Competitive Workforce Act filed once again

florida gay

A bill that would shield Florida employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression has died in committee about a dozen times, but legislators are giving it another go.

State Rep. Holly Raschein , R-Key Largo, and State Sen. Joe Abruzzo, D-Palm Beach, have filed the Florida Competitive Workforce Act. The bipartisan bill aims to prohibit discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people (LGBT) in employment, housing and public accommodations.

This is Raschein’s third year and Abruzzo’s second year co-sponsoring the bill, which has been introduced in some form since 2007, but has died in committee each time.

In early 2014, nearly a dozen of Florida’s top employers joined forces to push for the passage of the bill by launching the Florida Business Coalition for a Competitive Workforce. Once the 2015 bill was introduced, Florida Businesses for a Competitive Workforce hired a group of bipartisan political campaigners to lead the initiative, but it still only went as far as the Florida House subcommittees before dying.

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