Florida Supreme Court to Review 1st DCA Opinion Requiring Actual Violation of Law in Private Whistleblower Claims
Case: Gessner v. Southern Company and Gulf Power Company, 396 So. 3d 908 (Fla. 1st DCA 2024)
Clint Shannon Gessner sued his employer (Southern Company and Gulf Power) under Florida’s Private Sector Whistleblower Act (FWA), claiming he was fired in retaliation for objecting to practices he believed violated laws. The legal question was: does an employee need to show the employer actually broke a law, or is a reasonable belief that the employer’s conduct is illegal enough to get protection under the law?
The Court ruled in favor of the employer. It held that under section 448.102(3) of Florida law, a whistleblower must object to an actual violation of a law, regulation, or rule—not merely a good faith or reasonable belief that something illegal is happening. Because Gessner could not show that his employer’s actions were actually illegal, summary judgment was granted in favor of the company. This ruling directly conflicts with the Fourth District’s decision in Aery v. Wallace Lincoln-Mercury, LLC, 118 So. 3d 904 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013), which allowed claims based on a reasonable, good-faith belief of illegality.
In March 2025, the Florida Supreme Court accepted jurisdiction of the case. The Supreme Court is expected to resolve the disagreement between the districts and set a uniform statewide standard for whistleblower protections under the FWA. Until then, different parts of Florida apply different rules.
