Florida Human Rights Act

This week, on February 10, 2021, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion affirming summary judgment in favor of Wal-Mart Stores and against an employee on the employee’s racial discrimination claims under the Florida Human Rights Act. Claims of discrimination under the Florida Act are reviewed using the same analytical framework used for federal Title VII claims. The trial court found the employee presented no evidence that he was qualified for the positions he sought, or the persons promoted were had lesser qualifications.

The plaintiff had received poorer performance evaluations than the promoted employees and those individuals had superior qualifications. Additionally, the plaintiff was unable to establish that Wal-Mart retaliated against him because more than three years had passed between his alleged adverse action and the company’s refusal to promote him.