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Fla. Stat. § 447.509 (2025)

Other unlawful acts.

✓ 2025 Florida Statutes — current through the 2025 Regular Session
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447.509 Other unlawful acts.—
(1) Employee organizations, their members, agents, or representatives, or any persons acting on their behalf are hereby prohibited from:
(a) Soliciting public employees during working hours of any employee who is involved in the solicitation.
(b) Distributing literature during working hours in areas where the actual work of public employees is performed, such as offices, warehouses, schools, police stations, fire stations, and any similar public installations. This section shall not be construed to prohibit the distribution of literature during the employee’s lunch hour or in such areas not specifically devoted to the performance of the employee’s official duties.
(c) Instigating or advocating support, in any positive manner, for an employee organization’s activities from high school or grade school students during classroom time.
(d) Offering anything of value to a public officer as defined in s. 112.313(1) which the public officer is prohibited from accepting under s. 112.313(2).
(e) Offering any compensation, payment, or thing of value to a public officer as defined in s. 112.313(1) which the public officer is prohibited from accepting under s. 112.313(4).
(2) No employee organization shall directly or indirectly pay any fines or penalties assessed against individuals pursuant to the provisions of this part.
(3) The circuit courts of this state shall have jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of this section by injunction and contempt proceedings, if necessary. A public employee who is convicted of a violation of any provision of this section may be discharged or otherwise disciplined by his or her public employer, notwithstanding further provisions of law, and notwithstanding the provisions of any collective bargaining agreement.
History.—s. 3, ch. 74-100; s. 162, ch. 97-103; s. 5, ch. 2023-35.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7 cases, 1979–2007 · leading case: Okaloosa-Walton Junior Coll. Bd. of Trs. v. Florida Pub. Employees Relations Comm'n, 372 So. 2d 1378 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979).
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Okaloosa-Walton Junior Coll. Bd. of Trs. v. Florida Pub. Employees Relations Comm'n, 372 So. 2d 1378 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979). · cites it 6× “PERC’s definition of those rights is found in two sources: the reverse implications of Section 447.509, prohibiting employee solicitation at certain times and distribution at certain times and places; and in NLRB and federal court decisions construing similar provisions of the…”
Sch. Bd. of Lee Cnty. v. Pub. Employees Relations Comm'n, 513 So. 2d 1286 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987). · cites it 23× “The school board states the three points on appeal as follows: (1) PERC lacked jurisdiction because section 447.509 6 gives the *1289 circuit court exclusive jurisdiction of the charges in this case; (2) PERC erred in holding the school board in violation of section 447.”
Browning v. Brody, 796 So. 2d 1191 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001). “507 of the Act authorizes circuit courts to hear and determine all actions alleging violations of the no-strike provision of the Act and section 447.509 of the Act authorizes circuit courts to issue injunctions and to conduct contempt proceedings over claims involving specified…”
Lee Cty. Sch. Bd. v. Pub. Emp. Rel. Com'n, 513 So. 2d 1286 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987). · cites it 28× “In the second point, appellant argued that PERC erred by holding that appellant violated section 447.509, Florida Statutes (1983), by prohibiting literature distribution in work areas.”
Menegat v. City of Apopka, 954 So. 2d 681 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007). · cites it 7× “Section 447.509 provides: (1) Employee organizations, their members, agents, or representatives, or any persons acting on their behalf are hereby prohibited from: (a) Soliciting public employees during working hours of any employee who is involved in the solicitation.”
Am. Fed'n of Teachers-Hillsborough v. Sch. Bd. of Hillsborough Cnty., 584 So. 2d 62 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991). “AFT-H appeals PERC’s ruling as to the lounges, arguing first that it erred in interpreting section 447.509(l)(b) to mean that both distributing and recipient employees must be on non-work time.”
United Fac. of Fla. v. Fla. Bd. of Regents, 585 So. 2d 991 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991). · cites it 3× “Section 447.509(1)(c), Florida Statutes, prohibits employee organizations or their representatives from "[i]nstigating or advocating support, in any positive manner, for an employee organization's activities from high school or grade school students during classroom time.”
— 447.509(1) — 3 cases
Okaloosa-Walton Junior Coll. Bd. of Trs. v. Florida Pub. Employees Relations Comm'n, 372 So. 2d 1378 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979). “PERC’s definition of those rights is found in two sources: the reverse implications of Section 447.509, prohibiting employee solicitation at certain times and distribution at certain times and places; and in NLRB and federal court decisions construing similar provisions of the…”
Sch. Bd. of Lee Cnty. v. Pub. Employees Relations Comm'n, 513 So. 2d 1286 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987). “The school board states the three points on appeal as follows: (1) PERC lacked jurisdiction because section 447.509 6 gives the *1289 circuit court exclusive jurisdiction of the charges in this case; (2) PERC erred in holding the school board in violation of section 447.”
Lee Cty. Sch. Bd. v. Pub. Emp. Rel. Com'n, 513 So. 2d 1286 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987). “In the second point, appellant argued that PERC erred by holding that appellant violated section 447.509, Florida Statutes (1983), by prohibiting literature distribution in work areas.”
— 447.509(1)(a) — 2 cases
Menegat v. City of Apopka, 954 So. 2d 681 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007). “Section 447.509 provides: (1) Employee organizations, their members, agents, or representatives, or any persons acting on their behalf are hereby prohibited from: (a) Soliciting public employees during working hours of any employee who is involved in the solicitation.”
Lee Cty. Sch. Bd. v. Pub. Emp. Rel. Com'n, 513 So. 2d 1286 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987). “In the second point, appellant argued that PERC erred by holding that appellant violated section 447.509, Florida Statutes (1983), by prohibiting literature distribution in work areas.”
— 447.509(1)(b) — 1 case
Lee Cty. Sch. Bd. v. Pub. Emp. Rel. Com'n, 513 So. 2d 1286 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987). “In the second point, appellant argued that PERC erred by holding that appellant violated section 447.509, Florida Statutes (1983), by prohibiting literature distribution in work areas.”
— 447.509(1)(c) — 1 case
United Fac. of Fla. v. Fla. Bd. of Regents, 585 So. 2d 991 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991). “Section 447.509(1)(c), Florida Statutes, prohibits employee organizations or their representatives from "[i]nstigating or advocating support, in any positive manner, for an employee organization's activities from high school or grade school students during classroom time.”
— 447.509(3) — 2 cases
Sch. Bd. of Lee Cnty. v. Pub. Employees Relations Comm'n, 513 So. 2d 1286 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987). “The school board states the three points on appeal as follows: (1) PERC lacked jurisdiction because section 447.509 6 gives the *1289 circuit court exclusive jurisdiction of the charges in this case; (2) PERC erred in holding the school board in violation of section 447.”
Lee Cty. Sch. Bd. v. Pub. Emp. Rel. Com'n, 513 So. 2d 1286 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987). “In the second point, appellant argued that PERC erred by holding that appellant violated section 447.509, Florida Statutes (1983), by prohibiting literature distribution in work areas.”
— 447.509(l)(a) — 2 cases
Okaloosa-Walton Junior Coll. Bd. of Trs. v. Florida Pub. Employees Relations Comm'n, 372 So. 2d 1378 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979). “PERC’s definition of those rights is found in two sources: the reverse implications of Section 447.509, prohibiting employee solicitation at certain times and distribution at certain times and places; and in NLRB and federal court decisions construing similar provisions of the…”
Sch. Bd. of Lee Cnty. v. Pub. Employees Relations Comm'n, 513 So. 2d 1286 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987). “The school board states the three points on appeal as follows: (1) PERC lacked jurisdiction because section 447.509 6 gives the *1289 circuit court exclusive jurisdiction of the charges in this case; (2) PERC erred in holding the school board in violation of section 447.”
— 447.509(l)(b) — 2 cases
Sch. Bd. of Lee Cnty. v. Pub. Employees Relations Comm'n, 513 So. 2d 1286 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987). “The school board states the three points on appeal as follows: (1) PERC lacked jurisdiction because section 447.509 6 gives the *1289 circuit court exclusive jurisdiction of the charges in this case; (2) PERC erred in holding the school board in violation of section 447.”
Am. Fed'n of Teachers-Hillsborough v. Sch. Bd. of Hillsborough Cnty., 584 So. 2d 62 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991). “AFT-H appeals PERC’s ruling as to the lounges, arguing first that it erred in interpreting section 447.509(l)(b) to mean that both distributing and recipient employees must be on non-work time.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.

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