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Discrimination Because of Pregnancy Violates Florida Civil Rights Act

Discrimination based on pregnancy constitutes prohibited sex discrimination under the Florida Civil Rights Act ("FCRA") just as it does under federal law. In Carsillo v. City of Lake Worth, 995 So. 2d 1118 (Fla. 4th DCA, 2008)a firefighter/paramedic sued her employer under FCRA claiming the City of Lake Worth would only accommodate her request for light duty assignments while pregnant by giving her light duty work outside the fire department. The City accommodated other employees with physical restrictions with light duty within the fire department. The trial court held that FCRA does not prohibit discrimination based on pregnancy. The Court of Appeal noted that the federal law, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was amended in 1978 to define sex discrimination to include discrimination based on pregnancy. Although the Florida law was not so amended, the U.S. Congress had declared that its intent in enacting the original act in 1964 was to prohibit discrimination based on pregnancy as sex discrimination. As the Florida statute is patterned after, and interpreted the same as, the federal anti-discrimination law, it was not necessary for Florida to amend its law to expressly prohibit pregnancy discrimination to be given the same construction as the federal law.

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