Florida - Wednesday August 16, 2023: The United Faculty of Florida (UFF) chapter at the University of South Florida (USF) has filed suit in federal court to challenge the recently enacted ban on arbitration and to protect union contracts in Florida’s university system.
The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday August 16 on behalf of three faculty members who were laid off from the University of South Florida.
During this past Legislative Session Florida lawmakers passed Senate Bill 266 which bans arbitration for personnel disputes and gives final decision-making authority over such disputes to university presidents, instead of to a neutral, unbiased arbitrator.
"The ban has upended decades of precedent that has ensured the Sunshine State’s university faculty are treated fairly and equitably in our workplaces," states a news release from UFF. " In this case, we collectively challenge the university’s refusal to arbitrate layoffs, despite local contractual requirements to do so, and we fight for the ... rights of public employees in their continued employment under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution."
Download and read the federal lawsuit here.
Earlier this month UFF filed a similar lawsuit in state court challenging the arbitration ban.
UFF represents over 25,000 faculty members at all twelve Florida public universities, sixteen state and community colleges, four k-12 lab schools, and at the private institution Saint Leo University.