Florida SB 140: Whistleblower Protections for Employees and Independent Contractors of Property Insurers

Bill Text

140 
Whistleblower Protections for Employees and Independent Contractors of Property Insurers 
2025-10-08T07:48:22Z 
Prohibiting property insurers, or their agents or affiliates, from taking adverse actions against employees or contractors for specified reasons; authorizing such employees or contractors to bring a civil action within a specified timeframe, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2026 SB 140 

 By Senator Rouson 

 16-00457A-26 2026140__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to whistleblower protections for 
 3 employees and independent contractors of property 
 4 insurers; creating s. 626.9898, F.S.; prohibiting 
 5 property insurers, or their agents or affiliates, from 
 6 taking adverse actions against employees or 
 7 contractors for specified reasons; authorizing such 
 8 employees or contractors to bring a civil action 
 9 within a specified timeframe; authorizing a court to 
 10 order certain relief; providing an effective date. 
 11 
 12 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 13 
 14 Section 1. Section 626.9898, Florida Statutes, is created 
 15 to read: 
 16 626.9898 Whistleblower protections for employees and 
 17 contractors of property insurers.— 
 18 (1) Notwithstanding s. 448.102, a property insurer, or any 
 19 of its agents or affiliates, may not discharge, suspend, demote, 
 20 threaten, harass, or take any other adverse action against an 
 21 employee or independent contractor because the employee or 
 22 independent contractor has, in good faith, disclosed to any 
 23 governmental agency or the news media an activity, a policy, or 
 24 a practice of the insurer or its agents or affiliates which is 
 25 in violation of law, constitutes unethical conduct, or involves 
 26 fraudulent insurance practices. 
 27 (2) An employee or independent contractor aggrieved by a 
 28 violation of this section may bring a civil action in a court of 
 29 competent jurisdiction within 2 years after discovering that the 
 30 alleged violation occurred or within 4 years after the adverse 
 31 action was taken, whichever is earlier. Such court may order the 
 32 relief authorized in s. 448.103(2). 
 33 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.