HB0139 • 2026

Adverse Personnel Actions and Ethics Complaints

Labor

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: State Affairs Committee ; Maney ; (CO-INTRODUCERS) Benarroch
Last action: 2026-03-13
Official status: House - Died on Second Reading Calendar
Effective date: 2026-07-01

Plain English Breakdown

The official status indicates this bill died on Second Reading Calendar despite passing both chambers; however, the text provided includes an effective date and full legislative language. The explanation reflects the content of the proposed law as written.

HB0139: Protecting Workers Who Report Ethics Violations

This bill stops agencies and independent contractors from punishing employees who report specific ethics violations to the Commission on Ethics.

What This Bill Does

Prohibits agencies and independent contractors from firing, suspending, transferring, demoting, or cutting pay for reporting certain information.
Requires that reported information involves actual or suspected breaches of public trust or conduct standards defined in state law.
Protects employees who submit written complaints to the Commission on Ethics or provide information during an investigation.
Allows state agency employees to file a complaint with the Florida Commission on Human Relations and pursue legal action within 180 days after their investigation ends.
Permits local government employees to file complaints with their local authority if that authority has created a specific process for handling them.
Requires the Commission on Ethics to share complaint documents with investigating agencies or requesters under certain conditions, including redacting some information.

Who It Names or Affects

State, county, and municipal government agencies
Independent contractors working for government entities
Public employees who report ethics violations
The Commission on Ethics

Terms To Know

Adverse personnel action: Actions like firing, suspending, transferring, demoting, or cutting pay and benefits.
Independent contractor: A person who has a contract to work for an agency but is not a direct employee of the government entity.

Limits and Unknowns

Protection does not apply if the worker knew the reported information was false.
Workers who committed or helped commit the violation they are reporting cannot use this protection.
Local employees can only file complaints with their local authority if that authority has created a specific process for them.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

794885

Committee amendment H 139 Filed • Maney

Adopted 2/26/2026

Plain English: This amendment replaces existing text with new rules that protect state and local workers from being fired or punished if they report specific legal violations, while also listing what punishments employers must give if they break these rules.

Workers are protected only if they report real suspected breaks of ethics laws, the State Constitution, or other listed government codes to the Commission on Ethics.
Protection does not apply if a worker knowingly lies about information or is trying to get money for legal fees under another law.
If an employer punishes a protected worker, the new rules require them to give back the job, pay lost wages and benefits, and cover court costs.
Local government workers must follow specific steps with their local authority before they can take their case to civil court.

The provided text is a fragment that starts mid-sentence on page 1, so the full context of what was removed from lines 97-195 cannot be fully explained.
Some specific legal codes listed (like s. 350.04) are technical and their exact meaning requires looking up other laws not included in this text.

Bill History

2026-03-13 House
• Died on Second Reading Calendar
2026-03-02 House
• Bill referred to House Calendar • 1st Reading (Committee Substitute 1) • Added to Second Reading Calendar
2026-02-27 House
• Reported out of State Affairs Committee • Laid on Table under Rule 7.18(a) • CS Filed
2026-02-26 House
• Favorable with CS by State Affairs Committee
2026-02-24 House
• Added to State Affairs Committee agenda
2026-02-19 House
• Favorable by Rules & Ethics Committee • Reported out of Rules & Ethics Committee • Now in State Affairs Committee
2026-02-17 House
• Added to Rules & Ethics Committee agenda
2026-02-11 House
• Favorable by Government Operations Subcommittee • Reported out of Government Operations Subcommittee • Now in Rules & Ethics Committee
2026-02-09 House
• Added to Government Operations Subcommittee agenda
2026-01-13 House
• 1st Reading (Original Filed Version)
2025-10-21 House
• Referred to Government Operations Subcommittee • Referred to Rules & Ethics Committee • Referred to State Affairs Committee • Now in Government Operations Subcommittee
2025-10-09 House
• Filed

Official Summary Text

Adverse Personnel Actions and Ethics Complaints; Prohibits agencies & independent contractors from taking specified actions against employees for disclosing certain information to Commission on Ethics; requires that information disclosed include specified violations or alleged violations; requires disclosure of specified information to commission; provides that specified provisions protect employees who submit written complaints to commission or provide information to investigator during investigation of complaint or referral; authorizes certain employees to file complaints in accordance with specified provisions; authorizes such employees to pursue specified administrative remedy or civil action within specified timeframe; authorizes local public employees to file complaint with appropriate local governmental authority; specifies requirements for administrative procedures created by local governmental authorities; authorizes such employees to bring civil actions in court of competent jurisdiction under specified conditions; provides that it is affirmative defense to certain actions that adverse personnel action was predicated on grounds other than exercising of certain protected rights; requires commission to deliver complaints & any amendment thereto to agency conducting certain investigation, upon agency's written request; provides that such delivery does not affect specified exemptions in regard to complaint & amendments; requires that such delivery be within reasonable timeframe; requires that commission redact certain information under specified conditions; requires commission to deliver complaints & any amendment thereto to certain persons upon notarized written request.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

CS/HB 139 2026

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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to adverse personnel actions and 2
ethics complaints; creating s. 112.3242, F.S.; 3
providing legislative intent; defining terms; 4
prohibiting agencies and independent contractors from 5
taking specified actions against employees for 6
disclosing certain information to the Commission on 7
Ethics; providing applicability; requiring that 8
information disclosed include specified violations or 9
alleged violations; requiring disclosure of specified 10
information to the commission under specified 11
circumstances; providing that specified provisions 12
protect employees who submit written complaints to the 13
commission or provide information to an investigator 14
during an investigation of a complaint or referral; 15
providing applicability; authorizing certain employees 16
to file complaints in accordance with specified 17
provisions; authorizing such employees to pursue a 18
specified administrative remedy or a civil action 19
within a specified timeframe; defining the term "local 20
governmental authority"; authorizing local public 21
employees to file a complaint with the appropriate 22
local governmental authority under specified 23
circumstances; specifying requirements for 24
administrative procedures created by local 25

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governmental authorities; authorizing such employees 26
to bring civil actions in a court of competent 27
jurisdiction under specified conditions; requiring 28
specified relief; providing applicability; providing 29
that it is an affirmative defense to certain actions 30
that the adverse personnel action was predicated on 31
grounds other than the exercising of certain protected 32
rights; providing construction; amending s. 112.324, 33
F.S.; requiring the commission to deliver complaints 34
and any amendment thereto to the agency conducting a 35
certain investigation, upon the agency's written 36
request; providing that such delivery does not affect 37
specified exemptions in regard to the complaint and 38
amendments; requiring that such delivery be within a 39
reasonable timeframe; requiring that the commission 40
redact certain information under specified conditions; 41
requiring the commission to deliver complaints and any 42
amendment thereto to certain persons upon a notarized 43
written request; providing that such delivery does not 44
affect the specified exemptions of the complaint; 45
requiring that such delivery be within a reasonable 46
timeframe; requiring that the commission redact 47
certain information under specified conditions; 48
providing an effective date. 49
50

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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 51
52
Section 1. Section 112.3242, Florida Statutes, is created 53
to read: 54
112.3242 Adverse action against employee for disclosing 55
information of specified nature to the Commission on Ethics 56
prohibited; employee remedy and relief.— 57
(1) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.—It is the intent of the 58
Legislature to prevent agencies or independent contractors from 59
taking retaliatory action against an employee who reports to an 60
appropriate agency any violation of this part or s. 8(f), Art. 61
II of the State Constitution on the part of a public employer or 62
an independent contractor. It is further the intent of the 63
Legislature to prevent agencies or independent contractors from 64
taking retaliatory action against any person who discloses 65
information to an appropriate agency regarding alleged breaches 66
of the public trust or violations of s. 8(f), Art. II of the 67
State Constitution on the part of an agency, a public officer, 68
or an employee. 69
(2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, unless otherwise 70
specified, the term: 71
(a) "Adverse personnel action" means the discharge, 72
suspension, transfer, or demotion of any employee or the 73
withholding of bonuses, the reduction in salary or benefits, or 74
any other adverse action taken against an employee within the 75

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terms and conditions of employment by an agency or independent 76
contractor. 77
(b) "Agency" means any state, regional, county, local, or 78
municipal governmental entity, whether executive, judicial, or 79
legislative; any official, officer, department, division, 80
bureau, commission, authority, or political subdivision therein; 81
or any public school, community college, or state university. 82
(c) "Employee" means a person who performs services for, 83
and is under the control and direction of, or contracts with, an 84
agency or independent contractor for wages or other 85
remuneration. 86
(d) "Independent contractor" means a person, other than an 87
agency, who is engaged in any business and enters into a 88
contract, including a provider agreement, with an agency. 89
(3) ACTIONS PROHIBITED.— 90
(a) An agency or independent contractor may not dismiss, 91
discipline, or take any other adverse personnel action against 92
an employee for disclosing information pursuant to this section. 93
(b) An agency or independent contractor may not take any 94
adverse personnel action that affects the rights or interests of 95
an employee in retaliation for the person's disclosure of 96
information under this section. 97
(c) This subsection does not apply when an employee 98
discloses information known by the employee to be false or when 99
the employee discloses information that forms the basis of an 100

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award of costs or attorney fees or both pursuant to s. 101
112.317(7). 102
(4) NATURE OF INFORMATION DISCLOSED.—The information 103
disclosed under this section must include any violation or 104
suspected violation of: 105
(a) Any standard of conduct imposed by this part; 106
(b) Section 8, Art. II of the State Constitution; or 107
(c) Section 11.062, s. 16.715, part II of chapter 287, s. 108
350.031, s. 350.04, s. 350.041, s. 350.042, or s. 350.0605. 109
(5) TO WHOM INFORMATION IS DISCLOSED.—The information 110
disclosed under this section must be disclosed to the Commission 111
on Ethics. 112
(6) EMPLOYEES PROTECTED.—This section protects employees 113
who submit a written complaint to the Commission on Ethics 114
executed on a form prescribed by the commission and signed under 115
oath or affirmation or who provide information to an 116
investigator during an investigation of a complaint or referral. 117
A remedy or other protection under this section does not apply 118
to any employee who has committed or intentionally participated 119
in committing the violation or suspected violation for which 120
protection under this section is being sought. 121
(7) REMEDIES.— 122
(a) Any employee of any state agency as defined in s. 123
216.011 who is discharged, disciplined, or subjected to other 124
adverse personnel action or denied employment because he or she 125

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engaged in an activity protected by this section may file a 126
complaint, which complaint must be made in accordance with s. 127
112.31895. Upon receipt of notice from the Florida Commission on 128
Human Relations of termination of the investigation, the 129
complainant may elect to pursue the administrative remedy 130
available under s. 112.31895 or bring a civil action within 180 131
days after receipt of the notice. 132
(b) For the purpose of this paragraph, the term "local 133
governmental authority" includes any regional, county, or 134
municipal entity, special district, community college district, 135
or school district or any political subdivision thereof. Within 136
60 days after the action prohibited by this section, any local 137
public employee protected by this section may file a complaint 138
with the appropriate local governmental authority if that 139
authority has established by ordinance an administrative 140
procedure for handling such complaints or has contracted with 141
the Division of Administrative Hearings under s. 120.65 to 142
conduct hearings under this section. The administrative 143
procedure created by ordinance must provide for the complaint to 144
be heard by a panel of impartial persons appointed by the 145
appropriate local governmental authority. Upon hearing the 146
complaint, the panel shall make findings of fact and conclusions 147
of law for a final decision by the local governmental authority. 148
Within 180 days after the entry of a final decision by the local 149
governmental authority, the local public employee who filed the 150

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complaint may bring a civil action in any court of competent 151
jurisdiction. If the local governmental authority has not 152
established an administrative procedure by ordinance or 153
contract, a local public employee may, within 180 days after the 154
action prohibited by this section, bring a civil action in a 155
court of competent jurisdiction. 156
(c) Any other person protected by this section may, after 157
exhausting all available contractual or administrative remedies, 158
bring a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction 159
within 180 days after the action prohibited by this section. 160
(8) RELIEF.—In any action brought under this section, the 161
relief must include the following: 162
(a) Reinstatement of the employee to the same position 163
held before the adverse personnel action was commenced, or to an 164
equivalent position, or reasonable front pay as an alternative 165
relief. 166
(b) Reinstatement of the employee's full fringe benefits 167
and seniority rights, as appropriate. 168
(c) Compensation to the employee, if appropriate, for lost 169
wages, benefits, or other lost remuneration caused by the 170
adverse personnel action. 171
(d) Payment of reasonable costs, including attorney fees, 172
to a substantially prevailing employee, or to the prevailing 173
employer if the employee filed a frivolous action in bad faith. 174
(e) Issuance of an injunction, if appropriate, by a court 175

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of competent jurisdiction. 176
(f) Temporary reinstatement of the employee to his or her 177
former position or to an equivalent position, pending the final 178
outcome on the complaint, if an employee complains of being 179
discharged in retaliation for a protected disclosure and if a 180
court of competent jurisdiction or the Florida Commission on 181
Human Relations, as applicable under s. 112.31895, determines 182
that the disclosure was not made in bad faith or for a wrongful 183
purpose or occurred after an agency's initiation of a personnel 184
action against the employee which includes documentation of the 185
employee's violation of a disciplinary standard or performance 186
deficiency. This paragraph does not apply to an employee of a 187
municipality. 188
(9) DEFENSE.—It is an affirmative defense to any action 189
brought pursuant to this section that the adverse personnel 190
action was predicated upon grounds other than, and would have 191
been taken absent, the employee's exercise of rights protected 192
by this section. 193
(10) EXISTING RIGHTS.—This section does not diminish the 194
rights, privileges, or remedies of an employee under any other 195
law or rule or under any collective bargaining agreement or 196
employment contract; however, the election of remedies in s. 197
447.401 also applies to actions under this section. 198
Section 2. Paragraphs (g) and (h) are added to subsection 199
(2) of section 112.324, Florida Statutes, to read: 200

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112.324 Procedures on complaints of violations and 201
referrals; public records and meeting exemptions.— 202
(2) 203
(g) Notwithstanding the exemptions in paragraphs (a)-(d), 204
the commission shall deliver a copy of an ethics complaint, and 205
its timely amendments, to an agency conducting an investigation 206
of a claim asserted under s. 112.3242, upon receiving a written 207
request from the agency. The commission's delivery of the 208
complaint, and any amendments thereto, does not affect the 209
exemptions in paragraphs (a)-(d) in any other context. The 210
commission shall deliver the complaint, and any amendments 211
thereto, within a reasonable timeframe. If the exemptions in 212
paragraphs (a)-(d) are applicable at the time of the request, 213
the commission must redact any designations to the complaint 214
form it supplied after the form was filed, including, but not 215
limited to, date stamps, receipt stamps, and complaint serial 216
numbers. 217
(h) Notwithstanding the exemptions in paragraphs (a)-(d), 218
the commission shall deliver a copy of an ethics complaint, and 219
its timely amendments, to the person who filed the ethics 220
complaint and to the person who identified himself or herself in 221
the text of the complaint or its timely amendments as a current 222
or former employee of the agency associated with the respondent 223
named in the complaint or of an independent contractor of that 224
agency, upon receiving a notarized, written request from such 225

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person. The commission's delivery of the complaint, and any 226
amendments thereto, does not affect the exemptions in paragraphs 227
(a)-(d) in any other context. The commission shall deliver the 228
complaint in a reasonable timeframe. If the exemptions in 229
paragraphs (a)-(d) are applicable at the time of the request, 230
the commission must redact any designations to the complaint 231
form it supplied after the form was filed, including, but not 232
limited to, date stamps, receipt stamps, and complaint serial 233
numbers. 234
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 235