Prosecuting Employment Pregnancy Discrimination Cases in Florida

Federal law, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) — see 42 U.S.C. Section 2000e et seq.; 42 U.S.C. Section 2000e-2 — expressly forbids sex discrimination on the basis of pregnancy. Florida’s discrimination statute, the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992, does not. See Fla. Stat. Section 760.10.

While Florida’s statute does not expressly prohibit discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, one Florida appellate court, the Fourth District Court of Appeals has decided that a cause of action does exist under Section 760.10 for discrimination in employment based on pregnancy. See Carsillo v. City of Lake Worth, 995 So.2d 1118 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008).

Florida has five District Courts of Appeals. While the Fourth has decided that a cause of action does exist under 760.10, the First, in