Part of 'Stop WOKE' Act permanently blocked by federal judge as unconstitutional
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - On Friday, a federal judge permanently blocked restrictions that Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican lawmakers placed on addressing race-related issues in workplace training — part of a controversial 2022 law that DeSantis dubbed the "Stop WOKE Act."
Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker issued a two-page order granting a permanent injunction against the workplace training part of the law.
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The move came after the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this year upheld a preliminary injunction that Walker issued in 2022. Walker and the appeals court said the restrictions violated First Amendment rights.
The workplace-training part of the law listed eight race-related concepts and said that a required training program or other activity that "espouses, promotes, advances, inculcates, or compels such individual (an employee) to believe any of the following concepts constitutes discrimination based on race, color, sex, or national origin."
Primo Tampa, LLC, a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream franchisee; Honeyfund.com, Inc., a Clearwater-based technology company that provides wedding registries; and Chevara Orrin and her company, Collective Concepts, LLC, challenged the law.
Orrin and her company provide consulting and training to employers on diversity, equity, and inclusion issues. Walker also has separately issued a preliminary injunction against part of the law that would restrict how race-related concepts can be taught in universities.
An appeals court panel held a hearing in that case in June.