Florida Supreme Court Finds State Law Bans Pregnancy Discrimination

Executive Summary: The Florida Supreme Court has held that the Florida Civil Rights Act's (FCRA) prohibition against discrimination on the basis of sex includes discrimination based on pregnancy. See Delva v. The Continental Group, 2014 Fla. LEXIS 1316 (April 17, 2014). In reaching this conclusion, the Court noted that pregnancy is a "natural condition and primary characteristic unique to the female sex." The Court's decision resolves a split of authority among the lower courts on this issue.

Background

In Delva, the plaintiff claimed her employer took adverse employment actions against her, including scrutinizing her work more closely and denying her requests for shift changes, after she revealed she was pregnant. The trial court dismissed her lawsuit, and the Third DCA affirmed this decision, finding the FCRA does not prohibit pregnancy discrimination. The court relied in part on the reasoning of O'Loughlin v. Pinchback, 579 So. 2d 788 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991), in which the First DCA noted that the FCRA, which is patterned after Title VII, was not amended when Congress amended Title VII by enacting the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. The Third DCA's decision in Delva was in direct conflict with the decision of the Fourth DCA in Carsillo v. City of Lake Worth, 995 So. 2d 1118, 1120 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008), which held that the FCRA does prohibit discrimination based on pregnancy. Accordingly, the Florida Supreme Court agreed to review the Third DCA's decision to resolve this conflict.

The Florida Supreme Court's Decision

In reviewing the Third DCA's decision, the Florida Supreme Court noted that although O'Loughlin stated that the FCRA does not recognize pregnancy discrimination, it ultimately affirmed the plaintiff's recovery on her pregnancy discrimination claim, which was filed only under the FCRA. The Court also noted that reliance on the O'Loughlin decision has produced varying results, as the decision has been interpreted differently by federal district courts analyzing pregnancy discrimination claims under the FCRA.

The Court then analyzed the specific language of the FCRA, which provides that it is unlawful for an employer to "discharge or to fail or refuse to hire any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's . . . sex . . ." Fla. Stat. § 760.10. In interpreting this provision, the Court attempted to give effect...