• The Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992 permits religious organizations to discriminate in employment decisions on the basis of religion. The new law, which consists of a series of amendments to a 1977 civil rights law, prohibits employers (employing 15 or more employees) to engage in discrimination in hiring on account of an individual’s “race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicap, or marital status.” However, the new law contains the following provision: “This section shall not apply to any religious corporation, association, educational institution, or society which conditions opportunities in the area of employment or public accommodation to members of that religious corporation, association, educational institution, or society or to persons who subscribe to its tenets or beliefs. This section shall not prohibit a religious corporation, association, educational institution, or society from giving preference in employment to individuals of a particular religion to perform work connected with the carrying on by such corporations, associations, educational institutions, or societies of its various activities.”

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