Disability Law Summaries

Florida's employment-related disability discrimination provisions, which are part of the Florida Civil Rights Act, are located in the Florida Statutes at Title XLIV, Chapter 760.

The full text of Florida's Civil Rights Act is available at Employment Practices Guide 10-20,025.01 .

The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in housing (Florida Statutes, Title XLIV, Chapter 760).

The Florida Americans with Disabilities Accessibility Implementation Act sets forth accessibility standards requirements (Florida Statutes, Title XXXIII, Chapter 553).

Other disability provisions are located in the Florida Statutes at Title XXX, Chapter 413 (Accessibility); Title XXX, Chapter 427 (Telecommunications); and at Title XVI, Chapter 228 (Education).

Interaction of disability laws. --State or local disability laws that provide protection that is greater than or equivalent to that of the Americans with Disabilities Act are not nullified by the Act, and neither are laws that provide less protection than the ADA. However, if either law provides less protection than the other, the law with the lesser standard cannot be used as a defense to the law with the higher standard.

Before making any decisions that will affect the rights of people with disabilities, it is important that state laws be compared with the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. A person with a disability may prefer to file charges under a state law with fewer protections if that state law has greater remedies than the ADA.

DEFINITIONS

The following definitions apply to the Civil Rights Act.

"Employer" means 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, and any agent of such a person (Sec. 760.02, as amended by H.B. 143a, L. 2003, effective June 18, 2003).

"Public accommodations" means places of public accommodation, lodgings, facilities principally engaged in selling food for consumption on the premises, gasoline stations, places of exhibition or entertainment, and other covered establishments. Each of the following establishments which serves the public is a place of public accommodation within the meaning of this section: (Sec. 760.02, as amended by H.B. 143a, L. 2003, effective June 18, 2003).

(1) Any inn, hotel, motel, or other establishment which provides lodging to transient guests, other than an establishment located within a building which contains not more than four rooms for rent or hire and which is actually occupied by the proprietor of such establishment as his or her residence.

(2) Any restaurant, cafeteria, lunchroom, lunch counter, soda fountain, or other facility principally engaged in selling food for consumption on the premises, including, but not limited to, any such facility located on the premises of any retail establishment, or any gasoline station.

(3) Any motion picture theater, theater, concert hall, sports arena, stadium, or other place of exhibition or entertainment.

(4) Any establishment which is physically located within the premises of any establishment otherwise covered by this subsection, or within the premises of which is physically located any such covered establishment, and which holds itself out as serving patrons of such covered establishment..

The following definitions apply to accessibility, transportation and housing provisions.

"Housing accommodation" means any real property or portion thereof which is used or occupied, or intended, arranged, or designed to be used or occupied, as the home, residence, or sleeping place of one or more persons, but does not include any single-family residence, the occupants of which rent, lease, or furnish for compensation not more than one room therein (Sec. 413.08, as amended by Ch. 2005-63 (S.B. 434), L. 2005, effective July 1, 2005).

"Individual with a disability" means a person who is deaf, hard of hearing, blind, visually impaired, or otherwise physically disabled (Sec. 413.08, as amended by Ch. 2005-63 (S.B. 434), L. 2005, effective July 1, 2005).

"Hard of hearing" means an individual who has suffered a permanent hearing impairment that is severe enough to necessitate the use of amplification devices to discriminate speech sounds in verbal communication (Sec. 413.08, as amended by Ch. 2005-63 (S.B. 434), L. 2005, effective July 1, 2005).

"Physically disabled" means any person who has a physical impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities (Sec. 413.08, as amended by Ch. 2005-63 (S.B. 434), L. 2005, effective July 1, 2005).

"Public accommodation" means a common carrier, airplane, motor vehicle, railroad train, motor bus, streetcar, boat, or other public conveyance or mode of transportation; hotel; lodging place; place of public accommodation, amusement, or resort; and other places to which the general public is invited, subject only to the conditions and limitations established by law and applicable alike to all persons (Sec. 413.08, as amended by Ch. 2005-63 (S.B. 434), L. 2005, effective July 1, 2005).

"Service animal" means an animal that is trained to perform tasks for an individual with a disability. The tasks may include, but are not limited to, guiding a person who is visually impaired or blind, alerting a person who is deaf or hard of hearing, pulling a wheelchair, assisting with mobility or balance, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, retrieving objects, or performing other special tasks. A service animal is not a pet. (Sec. 413.08, as amended by Ch. 2005-63 (S.B. 434), L. 2005, effective July 1, 2005).

ACCESSIBILITY

An individual with a disability is entitled to full and equal accommodations, facilities, advantages and privileges in all public accommodations. However, no person, firm, business or corporation, or any agent thereof, is required to modify or provide any vehicle, premises, facility or service to a higher degree of accommodation than is required for a person without such a disability (Sec. 413.08(2), as amended by Ch.2005-63 (S. 434), L. 2005, effective July 1, 2005).

Any person, firm or corporation, or the agent of any person, firm or corporation, who denies or interferes with admittance to, or enjoyment of, a public accommodation, or who otherwise interferes with the rights of an individual with a disability, or the trainer of a service animal while engaged in the training of such animal, commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable by a definite term of imprisonment not exceeding 60 days, and/or a fine of no more than $500 (Sec. 413.08(3), as amended by Ch. 2005-63 (S.B. 434), L. 2005, effective July 1, 2005).

Accessibility standards. --The Florida Americans with Disabilities Accessibility Implementation Act sets forth requirements for accessibility in new or altered buildings, structures and facilities in the state. All buildings that may be frequented, lived in or worked in by the public must comply with this law (Secs. 553.501 --553.513).

Private clubs. Notwithstanding the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, private clubs are covered by Florida's accessibility requirements (Sec. 553.505, as amended by Ch. 76 (H. 1707), L. 1997).

Curb ramps. All curb ramps must be designed and constructed in accordance with the requirements set forth in Sec. 553.504.

Doors. Exterior hinged doors must be designed so that they can be pushed or pulled open with a force not exceeding 8.5 foot pounds (Sec. 553.504).

Motels and hotels. Special accessibility features that must be provided by motels and hotels are enumerated in Sec. 553.504.

Public telephones. The installation and placement of all public telephones is governed by the rules of the Florida Public Service Commission (Sec. 553.504, as amended by Ch. 76 (H. 1707), L. 1997).

Toilet facilities. Required restrooms and toilet rooms in new construction must be designed and constructed in accordance with the requirements set forth in Sec. 553.504.

Checkout aisles. All customer checkout aisles not required by the guidelines to be accessible to persons with disabilities must have at least 32 inches of clear passage (Sec. 553.504, as amended by Ch. 76 (H. 1707), L. 1997).

Turnstiles. --Turnstiles must not be used in occupancies that serve fewer than 100 persons, but turnstiles may be used in occupancies that serve at least 100 persons if there is an unlocked alternate passageway on an accessible route affording not less than 32 inches of clearance, equipped with latching devices (Sec. 553.504, as amended by Ch. 76 (H. 1707), L. 1997).

Entrances and exits. Barriers at common or emergency entrances and exits of business establishments conducting business with the general public that are existing, under construction, or under contract for construction that would prevent a person with a disability from using such entrances or exits must be removed (Sec. 553.504, as amended by Ch. 76 (H. 1707), L. 1997).

Vertical accessibility. The owner of any building, structure or facility governed by the Florida Americans with Disabilities Accessibility Implementation Act or its guidelines must provide vertical accessibility to all levels above and below the occupiable grade level, regardless of whether the guidelines require an elevator to be installed in such building, structure or facility, except for (Sec. 553.509, as amended by Ch. 76 (H. 1707), L. 1997):

(1) elevator pits, elevator penthouses, mechanical rooms, piping or equipment catwalks, and automobile lubrication and maintenance pits and platforms;

(2) unoccupiable spaces, such as rooms, enclosed spaces, and storage spaces that are not designed for human occupancy, for public accommodations, or for work areas; and

(3) occupiable spaces and rooms that are not open to the public and that house no more than five persons, including, but not limited to, equipment control rooms and projection booths. However, buildings, structures and facilities must, as a minimum, comply with the requirements in the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines.

Public food service establishments. There are special requirements for seating for public food service establishments and establishments licensed under the state's Beverage Law for consumption on the premises (Sec. 553.504, as amended by Ch. 76 (H. 1707), L. 1997).

Parking. Specifications for parking facilities in nonresidential structures built on or after January 1, 1991, are covered in Sec. 553.511.

Housing. Accessibility standards for covered multifamily dwellings intended for first occupancy after March 13, 1991, are covered in Sec. 760.23 (see "Housing" below).

Enforcement. Enforcement of the state's accessibility provisions is the responsibility of each local government and each code enforcement agency. Municipalities and counties may also enforce the provisions (Sec. 553.513).

Exceptions. The Florida Americans with Disabilities Accessibility Implementation Act does not apply to any of the following (Sec. 553.507, as amended by Ch. 76 (H. 1707), L. 1997):

(1) Buildings, structures or facilities that were either under construction or under contract for construction on October 1, 1997.

(2) Buildings, structures or facilities that were in existence on October 1, 1997, unless: (a) the building, structure or facility is being converted from residential to nonresidential or mixed use; (b) the proposed alteration or renovation of the building, structure or facility will affect usability or accessibility to a degree that invokes the requirements of Sec. 303(a) of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; or (c) the original construction or any former alteration or renovation of the building, structure or facility was carried out in violation of applicable permitting law.

Service animals. --An individual with a disability has the right to be accompanied by a service animal, specially trained for the purpose, in all areas of a public accommodation that the public or customers are normally permitted to occupy. Documentation that the service animal is trained is not a precondition for providing service to an individual accompanied by a service animal. However, a public accommodation may ask if an animal is a service animal or what tasks the animal has been trained to perform in order to determine the difference between a service animal and a pet (Sec. 413.08(3), as amended by Ch. 2005-63 (S.B. 434), L. 2005, effective July 1, 2005).

An individual with a disability is liable for damage caused by a service animal if it is the regular policy and practice of the public accommodation to charge nondisabled persons for damages caused by their pets. The care or supervision of a service animal is the responsibility of the individual owner. A public accommodation is not required to provide care or food or a special location for the service animal or assistance with removing animal excrement (Sec. 413.08(3), as amended by Ch. 2005-63 (S.B. 434), L. 2005, effective July 1, 2005).

Trainers. Any trainer of a service animal, while engaged in the training of such an animal, has the same rights and privileges with respect to access to public facilities and the same liability for damage as is provided for those persons described in section 413.08(3) above accompanied by service animals (Sec. 413.08(8), as amended by Ch. 2005-63 (S.B. 434), L. 2005, effective July 1, 2005).

Penalties. Any person, firm or corporation, or the agent of any person, firm or corporation, who denies or interferes with admittance to, or enjoyment of, a public accommodation, or who otherwise interferes with the rights of an individual with a disability, or the trainer of a service animal while engaged in the training of such an animal, commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable by a definite term of imprisonment not exceeding 60 days, and/or a fine of no more than $500 (Sec. 413.08(4), as amended by Ch. 2005-63 (S.B. 434), L. 2005, effective July 1, 2005; Sec. 775.082, as amended by Ch. 239 (H. 1371), L. 1997; and Sec. 775.083, as amended by Ch. 102 (S. 438), L. 1997).

Discrimination. --The operators of public lodging and public food service establishments have the right to refuse accommodations or service to any person who is objectionable or undesirable to the operator, but such refusal may not be based upon physical disability (Sec. 509.092).

HIV. A person may not discriminate against an otherwise qualified individual in public accommodations on the basis of the fact that such individual is, or is regarded as being, infected with human immunodeficiency virus (Sec. 760.50(4)(a)).

A person who asserts that an individual who is infected with HIV is not otherwise qualified has the burden of proving that no reasonable accommodation can be made to prevent the likelihood that the individual will, under the circumstances involved, expose other individuals to a significant possibility of being infected with HIV (Sec. 760.50(4)(c)).

Any person aggrieved by a violation of the HIV provisions has a right of action in the circuit court and may recover for each violation (Sec. 760.50(6)):

(1) against any violator, liquidated damages of $1,000 or actual damages, whichever is greater;

(2) against any person who violates such provisions intentionally or recklessly, liquidated damages of $5,000 or actual damages, whichever is greater;

(3) reasonable attorney's fees;

(4) such other relief, including an injunction, as the court may deem appropriate.