7.0 | Intro
Better News: TBD has also copied, re-formatted, and published [almost] all publicly available PFRs on this website.
Features:
✔ Free
✔ Rewarding
o ie, you will score book points by reading/accessing the Petitions for Relief
• learn more about book points here
✔ Complete
✔ Comprehensive
✔ Interactive
✔ Uninvasive
✓ No Contracts
✓ No Signups
Best News: In this walkthrough, TBD will expound on the FCHR-DOAH Petition for Relief.
7.1 | The Law that Governs Petitions for Relief
“(a) Except for any proceeding conducted as prescribed in s. 120.56, a petition or request for a hearing under this section shall be filed with the [FCHR]. If the [FCHR] requests an administrative law judge from [DOAH], it shall so notify [DOAH] by electronic means through [DOAH]’s website within 15 days after receipt of the petition or request. A request for a hearing shall be granted or denied within 15 days after receipt. On the request of any agency, [DOAH] shall assign an administrative law judge with due regard to the expertise required for the particular matter. The [FCHR] shall take no further action with respect to a proceeding under s. 120.57(1), except as a party litigant, as long as [DOAH] has jurisdiction over the proceeding under s. 120.57(1).”While this law explains how timely the agency must act, there are other statutes/rules/regulations that explain how timely you must act.
7.2 | Filing Window
➫ If the FCHR issues you a “No Cause” Determination then you will [still] have 35 days to request an administrative hearing (see §760.11(7) FS).
7.3 | Protected Characteristics (‘Charged Bases’)
Moreover, DOAH (ie, the agency that will receive/handle your PFR) will [probably] strike discrimination bases that were not in your original COD (and/or FCHR Determination). Therefore, do not add any bases that were not in your COD/Determination.
** additional note: In practice, the FCHR often lumps pregnancy discrimination into sex discrimination; other times it lumps it into disability discrimination. Either way, if you’ve faced pregnancy discrimination then Florida law will cover you.
*** final note: there've been recent pushes to include protections for genetic information (a là GINA – a federal law). However, TBD hasn’t listed it here because Florida legislation has yet to explicitly include it (see FLSenate.gov). Nonetheless, since genetic information is closely tied to nationality/race/sex/etc, you can probably still file a Florida discrimination suit under those bases.
7.4 | Checklist for a DOAH/FCHR Petition for Relief
☑ Your Name
☑ Your Opponent’s Name (ie, your employer)
☑ Contact Info (yours; and your opponent’s)
☑ The style of the proceeding (eg, Employment Discrimination, Housing Discrimination, etc.)
Note: if you just fill out the Template, then you’ll satisfy each of these filing requirements.
7.5 | Disclose the Adverse Employment Action
• Demotion
• Denied Reasonable Accommodation
• Disparate Terms & Conditions
• Failure to Hire
• Failure to Promote
• Hostile Work Environment
• Retaliation
• Suspension
• Termination
• Unequal Pay
7.6 | Analysis of a Sample FCHR Petition for Relief
| # | Point | Image/Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ✔ On Time | This litigant successfully filed his PFR within the 35-day statutory window   7/3/20 vs 5/29/20 (35 days ≤ 35 days);{§760.11(6) FS} |
| 2 | ✔ Case Style | This PFR identifies the type of case that this is.  |
| 3 | ✔ Adverse Action | This PFR clearly states the adverse employment action (ie, 'termination'). |
| 4 | ✔ Short & Plain Statement | This litigant successfully gave a short & plain statement of the case:  He also gave a short & plain statement of the subsequent retaliation (see Opposition vs Participation Clause):  |
| 5 | ✔ Statutes Listed | This litigant successfully invoked the state laws that gave rise to this action  |
| 6 | ✔ Substantiating Facts |  note: substantiating facts are not necessary, but they can help solidify your PFR |
| 7 | ✔ Brief | ✔ only 4 pages (the remaining 4 pages were just exhibits) ✔ quick narrative (corroborates the ultimate facts) |
| 8 | ✔ Contact Info | This litigant successfully disclosed the contact information for both parties: |
7.7 | TBD’s Recommendations
‣ See Rule 12 Fed. R. Civ. P. (and Rule 1.140 Fla. R. Civ. P.)
o Example 2: Company ABC suspended me because I filed an internal discrimination complaint
o Example 3: Corporation XYZ demoted me due to my age
o Example 4: Corporation ABC refused to hire me because of my nationality
o Example 5: Entity XYZ subjected me to a hostile work environment because of my disability
• DOAH’s Uniform Rules of Procedure
• Rule 9.030 Fla. R. App. P.
• Rule 9.110 Fla. R. App. P.
• Rule 9.120 Fla. R. App. P.
• Rule 9.190 Fla. R. App. P.
• Rule 2.514 Fla. R. Jud. Admin.
• Rule 201 Fed. R. Evid.
• DOAH’s Uniform Rules of Procedure
7.8 | TBD’s Commentary
It’s possible that you might feel as though no one will understand what you’ve gone through. However, your story – although unique – will be very similar to many other cases of employment discrimination.
In TBD’s words, different discrimination cases are like different songs from the same genre of music. They have common patterns, but their specific facts/lyrics are different.
Of course, a key part of your journey will be knowing how to navigate through the FCHR/DOAH legal process; and you can fortify that knowledge by learning about the next phase (ie, Phase 8: DOAH Proceeding)...
