Republican lawmakers in Florida have advanced legislation that could give public employees and state contractors broad protection to discriminate against LGBTQ+ individuals in the workplace without consequence.
The bill, titled the “Freedom of Conscience in the Workplace Act” (S.B. 440), would bar public employers from requiring staff to use transgender individuals’ correct pronouns. It would also protect workers from disciplinary action for expressing “traditional or Biblical views of sexuality and marriage, or … gender ideology.”
The proposed law would remove the “nonbinary” gender option from employment documents and prohibit any mandate for LGBTQ+ cultural competency training. However, these provisions would not apply to private-sector employers.
Democratic state Senator Kristen Arrington condemned the bill, stating it would effectively “promote government employees and contractors to harass transgender individuals by allowing them to intentionally misgender them by using disrespectful pronouns and having no consequences.” She called it “a licence to discriminate free from accountability.”
Initially delayed after receiving hundreds of opposing public comments, the Senate Government Oversight and Accountability Committee ultimately voted 5–2 along party lines to advance the bill. It now moves to the state Senate Judiciary Committee for further consideration.
Claudia Thomas, Florida’s first openly gay commissioner in Sanford City, criticised the bill’s priorities. “I would love to get back to trying to solve my city’s problems about water, clean water, housing, etc,” she told Florida Politics. “And if I have to start wasting my time talking about pronouns and people not respecting my friends, it would make me sad.”
Equality Florida, a statewide LGBTQ+ advocacy organisation, flagged this bill as one of several targeting the queer community. Other bills in the pipeline include:
- A proposal to ban local governments from recognising Pride Month or implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.
- A bill to prohibit state funding for any DEI initiatives within agencies or among contractors.
- A measure banning Pride flags on government property.
- Legislation restricting reproductive healthcare access for minors without parental consent.
In response, Democratic lawmakers have introduced counter-legislation aimed at repealing Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage, reversing the controversial “Don’t Say Gay” law in schools, ending the use of so-called “LGBTQ+ panic” defences in criminal trials, and reinstating parental access to gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
As the legislative debate unfolds, LGBTQ+ advocates fear the bill will roll back workplace protections and escalate a broader campaign of state-sanctioned discrimination.
