FLORIDA

Fla. Const. Article 1, § 6
§ 6. Right to Work

The right of persons to work shall not be denied or abridged on account of membership or non-membership in any labor union or labor organization. The right of employees, by and through a labor organization, to bargain collectively shall not be denied or abridged. Public employees shall not have the right to strike. (Constitution Amended by General Election, 1944; Revised by General Election November 5, 1968)

 

TITLE 31. LABOR (Chs. 435-452)

CHAPTER 447. LABOR ORGANIZATIONS

PART I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

§ 447.01. Regulating labor unions; state policy.

(1) Because of the activities of labor unions affecting the economic conditions of the country and the state, entering as they do into practically every business and industrial enterprise, it is the sense of the Legislature that such organizations affect the public interest and are charged with a public use. The working person, unionist or nonunionist, must be protected. The right to work is the right to live.

(2) It is here now declared to be the policy of the state, in the exercise of its sovereign constitutional police power, to regulate the activities and affairs of labor unions, their officers, agents, organizers and other representatives, in the manner, and to the extent hereafter set forth. (Enacted 1943, amended effective July 1, 1997.)

§ 447.02. Definitions.

The following terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section:

(1) The term “labor organization” means any organization of employees or local or subdivision thereof, having within its membership residents of the state, whether incorporated or not, organized for the purpose of dealing with employers concerning hours of employment, rate of pay, working conditions, or grievances of any kind relating to employment and recognized as a unit of bargaining by one or more employers doing business in this state, except that an “employee organization,” as defined in s. 447.203(11), shall be included in this definition at such time as it seeks to register pursuant to s. 447.305.

* * * * (Enacted 1943, amended effective July 1, 2002.)

§ 447.03. Employees’ right of self-organization.

Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor unions or labor organizations or to refrain from such activity, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in concerted activities, for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection. (Enacted 1943, amended 1974.)

§ 447.14. Penalties.

Any person or labor organization who shall violate any of the provisions of this part shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. (Enacted 1943, amended 1991.)

§ 447.17 Civil remedy; injunctive relief.

(1) Any person who may be denied employment or discriminated against in his employment on account of membership or nonmembership in any labor union or labor organization shall be entitled to recover from the discriminating employer, other person, firm, corporation, labor union, labor organization, or association, acting separately or in concert, in the courts of this state, such damages as he may have sustained and the costs of suit, including reasonable attorney’s fees. If such employer, other person, firm, corporation, labor union, labor organization, or association acted willfully and with malice or reckless indifference to the rights of others, punitive damages may be assessed against such employer, other person, firm, corporation, labor union, labor organization, or association.

(2) Any person sustaining injury as a result of any violation or threatened violation of the provisions of this section shall be entitled to injunctive relief against any and all violators or persons threatening violation.

(3) The remedy and relief provided for by this section shall not be available to public employees as defined in part II of this chapter. (Enacted 1974; amended 1997.)

 

PART II. PUBLIC EMPLOYEES

§ 447.301. Public employees’ rights; organization and representation.

(1) Public employees shall have the right to form, join, and participate in, or to refrain from forming, joining, or participating in, any employee organization of their own choosing.

* * * * (Enacted 1974.)

§ 447.501. Unfair labor practices.

(1) Public employers or their agents or representatives are prohibited from:

(a) Interfering with, restraining, or coercing public employees in the exercise of any rights guaranteed them under this part.

(b) Encouraging or discouraging membership in any employee organization by discrimination in regard to hiring, tenure, or other conditions of employment.

* * * *

(2) A public employee organization or anyone acting in its behalf or its officers, representatives, agents, or members are prohibited from:

(a) Interfering with, restraining, or coercing public employees in the exercise of any rights guaranteed them under this part . . . .

(b) Causing or attempting to cause a public employer to discriminate against an employee because of the employee’s membership or nonmembership in an employee organization or attempting to cause the public employer to violate any of the provisions of this part.

* * * * (Enacted 1974.)