Sep 4, 2026 · LawyerUnc editorial · Florida · Employment · YMYL

Florida workplace claims do not get the car-crash clock

Unfair is not illegal. A Florida Civil Rights Act complaint is due in 365 days. After July 1, 2026, the lawsuit that follows has its own hard dates under Fla. Stat. § 760.11.

Last checked Sep 4, 2026 · LawyerUnc editorial. Educational only, not legal advice.

Being walked out of a Florida job feels like a case. Most of the time it is not. Private employment here is at-will unless a contract, a union, or a statute says otherwise. Mean is not a statute. Unfair is not illegal.

When a firing, a refusal to promote, or a hostile workplace is tied to a protected trait, the first clock is a charge, not a lawsuit. A Florida Civil Rights Act complaint at the Florida Commission on Human Relations is due within 365 days of the alleged violation. That is Fla. Stat. § 760.11(1). A federal Title VII charge is often due in 300 days because Florida is a deferral state. Neither number is the two-year personal-injury clock from a wreck.

Then there is a second clock. Chapter 2026-116 (HB 1407) took effect July 1, 2026. It amended § 760.11 so a civil action under the Act generally must be filed no later than one year after an FCHR reasonable-cause determination or an EEOC right-to-sue notice, whichever comes first. If neither issued within 180 days of the charge, the civil action is generally due no later than 18 months after the charge was filed. People used to argue about that gap. The statute now answers it.

Wage claims are a different pile. Unpaid overtime under the FLSA is generally two years, three if willful. Do not mix that with a discrimination charge, and do not mix either with workers' compensation if you were physically hurt on the job.

This is a map of the published clocks, not a ruling on your boss, and not legal advice. Last checked 4 September 2026 against Fla. Stat. § 760.11 (2026 compilation) and Chapter 2026-116.