Bill Restricting Gender Identity Employment Practices Advances in House

HB 641 by Rep. Rachel Plakon (Longwood) was passed by its final committee of reference, House Judiciary, by a vote of 13-6 and has been placed on the House calendar. During the committee meeting, FCCB indicated its support of the bill.

The measure would prohibit public employers from requiring employees to refer to co-workers by their preferred pronouns if they do not correspond to the person’s sex at birth. The bill covers state and local governments and contractors and declares that “it is the policy of this state that a person’s sex is an immutable biological trait and that it is false to ascribe to a person a pronoun that does not correspond to such person’s sex.” A similar law is already in place covering workers in public schools. In addition to providing for civil remedies for anyone disciplined or fired for refusing to go along with others’ pronoun choices, the bill would make it unlawful for public employers to require training on sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. 

The companion, SB 1642 by Senator Stan McClain (Ocala), is in its second committee of reference, Senate Judiciary.