Statute
Classes protected
- Sex, race, color, religion, pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap, or marital status. With exceptions, this applies to any person employing 15 or more employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year.
- Pinellas County: Gender which under the ordinance encompasses sex, pregnancy, childbirth or medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth, and gender-related self-identity, self-image, appearance, expression or behavior.
Key Language on Pay Discrimination
- “No employer shall discriminate between employees on the basis of sex by paying wages to employees at a rate less than the rate at which he or she pays wages to employees of the opposite sex for equal work on jobs the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are performed under similar working conditions[.]” This applies to any person who employs two or more employees.
- Pinellas County: It is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against an employee as to compensation because of the employee’s race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap, or marital status. With exceptions, this applies to any person employing 15 or more employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year.
- Pinellas County: It is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against an individual with respect to compensation because of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability.
Exceptions for Pay Disparities (including Affirmative Defenses)
- Seniority system
- Merit system
- System which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production
- A differential based on any reasonable factor other than sex when exercised in good faith
Anti-Retaliation
- So long as certain conditions are met, an employee may not retaliate against an employee because the employee has:
- disclosed, or threatened to disclose, to any appropriate governmental agency, under oath, in writing, an activity, policy, or practice of the employer that is in violation of a law, rule, or regulation.
- Provided information to, or testified before, any appropriate governmental agency, person, or entity conducting an investigation, hearing, or inquiry into an alleged violation of a law, rule, or regulation by the employer.
- Objected to, or refused to participate in, any activity, policy, or practice of the employer which is in violation of a law, rule, or regulation.
Other Key Provisions
- Does not apply to employers covered by the FLSA to the extent the FLSA preempts claims under Section 448.07.