Amended Florida Civil Rights Act Reduces Both Administrative Delay and Businesses’ Legal Exposure

Takeaways

• Expected to begin on 07.01.26, Florida Civil Rights Act civil actions must be filed within firm deadlines.
• As amended by Florida House Bill 1407, any civil action brought under the Act must commence no later than one year after the date of determination of reasonable cause by the Florida Commission on Human Relations or issuance of a Notice of Right to Sue by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, whichever is earlier. 
• The new law resolves conflicting court rulings and limits prolonged employer exposure to claims under the Act.

Related link

• Florida House Bill 1407

Article

Amendments to the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992 (FCRA) finally provide clear deadlines for pursuing claims under the law and certainty for employers and employees. House Bill 1407 is expected to take effect on July 1, 2026.

FCRA Background

Codified in Chapter 760, Florida Statutes, the FCRA prohibits discrimination in employment based on an individual’s race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap, or marital status. The FCRA covers employers with at least 15 employees.

Before filing a civil action under the FCRA, an aggrieved person must exhaust administrative remedies by filing a charge of discrimination (Charge) with the Florida Commission on Human Relations (FCHR) or the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Once a Charge has been filed, the FCHR must investigate the Charge and determine whether there is reasonable cause to believe that a discriminatory practice has occurred within 180 days of the filing. If the FCHR determines that such reasonable cause exists, the aggrieved person may file a lawsuit in court within one year of the determination (essentially, a one-year statute of limitations) as one option to pursue redress. In the alternative, the aggrieved person may request an administrative hearing within 35 days of the FCHR determination.

Where the FCHR fails to make a determination within 180 days of the Charge being filed (because, for instance, the Charge is being investigated by the EEOC rather than the FCHR), the aggrieved person may ultimately proceed as though the FCHR has found reasonable cause and, therefore, may also file a lawsuit in court. In these situations, the aggrieved person is required to file a lawsuit within one year of the FCHR certifying that it has notified the aggrieved person by mail of its failure to make a timely determination. The FCHR frequently does not issue the certification, unfortunately creating widespread uncertainty as to when the statute of limitations begins to run.

Historical Uncertainty Surrounding Filing Deadlines

In practice, numerous Charges alleging violations of the FCRA are dual-filed with the FCHR and the EEOC and are investigated by either agency pursuant to a work-sharing agreement. In many cases where the EEOC conducts the investigation, it will issue a Notice of Right to Sue (NRTS) without the FCHR issuing a separate reasonable cause determination or mailing a written notice that it has failed to make a timely determination. Historically, the FCRA has not addressed whether a NRTS issued by the EEOC triggers the FCRA’s one-year statute of limitations.

In recent years, Florida’s appellate courts have been divided over this issue. For example, Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeals held that a notice of right to sue issued by the EEOC is sufficient to trigger the FCRA’s one-year statute of limitations, even absent a separate FCHR determination. In contrast, the First District Court of Appeals has held that if the FCHR fails to issue a reasonable cause determination within 180 days, a four-year statute of limitations applies.

Not surprisingly, this circuit split has resulted in uncertainty surrounding filing deadlines for both employees and employers. Under the historical statutory framework, FCRA claims could remain viable for years after an EEOC NRTS had been issued.

House Bill 1407

House Bill 1407 is expected to streamline civil action filings under the FCRA and reduce administrative delays by setting clear deadlines.

Significantly, the new law provides that any civil action brought under the FCRA must commence no later than one year after the date of determination of reasonable cause by the FCHR or the issuance of a NRTS by the EEOC, whichever is earlier. This eliminates any ambiguity as to whether an EEOC NRTS triggers the FCRA’s one-year statute of limitations.

It also addresses situations where an agency fails to take action within the 180-day investigative window. In those cases, the law imposes a deadline of 18 months from the date the Charge was filed to commence a civil action. Any claims under the FCRA asserted after that deadline would be time-barred.

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Employers with questions about House Bill 1407 or its potential impact on their workplace policies and employment litigation strategy should contact a Jackson Lewis attorney for guidance.