JAMELA MITCHELL, APPELLANT,
v.
PALM BEACH COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD, APPELLEE
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The court reversed the FCHR's dismissal of an employment discrimination complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Although the complainant had previously filed a similar charge with the EEOC, the FCHR has independent jurisdiction to hear discrimination complaints that are timely filed and allege violations within its purview.
The FCHR has subject matter jurisdiction over timely filed discrimination complaints that fall within its purview. An EEOC determination does not divest the FCHR of jurisdiction, and the existence of a dual filing does not create a jurisdictional defect, though the FCHR may apply worksharing procedures.
[1] A complaint filed with the Florida Commission on Human Relations (FCHR) alleging racial discrimination is within the FCHR's subject matter jurisdiction.
[2] A dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction is improper when a complaint is timely filed and alleges a matter within the FCHR's purview.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“All we have is a timely filed complaint alleging racial discrimination and a response from the appellee. Its subject matter is within the purview of the FCHR.”
Establishes that the complaint falls within FCHR's jurisdiction ratione materiae
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMitchell filed a discrimination and retaliation complaint with the FCHR within 865 days of the alleged violation. The Palm Beach County School Board r…
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We reverse the order dismissing appellant’s complaint to the Florida Commission on Human Relations (FCHR) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
Appellant filed a complaint of discrimination and retaliation with the FCHR within 865 days of the alleged violation, according to the date contained in the complaint. See § 760.10(1), Fla. Stat. (2012). FCHR requested and received a response from the appellee. In that response, ap-pellee noted that appellant had filed a similar complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and the EEOC had issued an order in which it was unable to conclude that the information received constituted a violation of any statutes. The appellee also included all of its own investigation of the EEOC complaint, noting that the newly filed FCHR complaint was based upon the same allegations. Shortly after receiving the complaint, FCHR issued an order dismissing the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction without explaining the legal basis.
The appellee has not filed a brief in this case, and we have been unable to determine from our review of the law why it claims FCHR lacks subject matter jurisdiction. All we have is a timely filed complaint alleging racial discrimination and a response from the appellee. Its subject matter is within the purview of the FCHR. It may be that, given the dual filing, the FCHR could adopt the same ruling as the EEOC,1 but that does not equate to lack of subject matter jurisdiction.2
We thus reverse the order of dismissal and remand for further proceedings.
WARNER, GROSS and LEVINE, JJ., concur.
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- Segura v. Hunter Douglas Fabrication Co., 184 F. Supp. 2d 1227 (M.D. Fla. 2002)