Federal Ruling Strikes Down Provisions Of Florida’s ‘Stop WOKE Act’
Daniel A. Varela/Miami Herald
On Friday, a federal judge permanently stopped the rules that Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican lawmakers set up to limit discussions about race in workplace training. This was part of the 2022 law called the “Stop WOKE Act.”
Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker issued a two-page order to block these rules permanently. This decision followed the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ earlier ruling this year, which supported a temporary block Judge Walker had put in place in 2022.
Both Judge Walker and the appeals court said that these rules violated the First Amendment. The law had eight specific ideas related to race and said that any training program or activity that teaches or promotes these ideas would be considered discrimination based on race, color, sex, or national origin.
The law was challenged by Primo Tampa, LLC, a Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream franchisee; Honeyfund.com, Inc., a tech company from Clearwater that provides wedding registries; and Chevara Orrin and her company, Collective Concepts, LLC, which offers training on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Judge Walker also issued a separate temporary block against another part of the law that limits how race-related topics can be taught in universities. An appeals court panel reviewed that case in June.
