Broward County is First in Florida to Require Domestic Partner  Benefits from Vendors Companies doing business with Broward County must now provide equal healthcare benefits to their employees with domestic partners. Broward is the first county in Florida to pass such a law. The amended Equal Benefits Ordinance pertains to companies with five or more employees who wish to qualify for County government contracts worth $100,000 or more. Companies are exempt from the law if they do not provide healthcare or family leave benefits to any employees, but if benefits are provided companies must treat married and registered unmarried couples equally under an ordinance. Unmarried couples must be in Broward County’s Domestic Registry to be eligible for benefits. More...

The Broward County Board of County Commissioners unanimously voted to amend the County's human rights ordinance to provide equal protection to transgender residents in 2008. The expanded ordinance came 13 years after the County agreed to provide equal opportunity to gays and lesbians in 1995. Broward is the largest Florida community to outlaw transgender discrimination and one of the largest in the nation. The amendment to the ordinance defines gender identity and expression as the appearance, expression or behavior of a person, regardless of the individual's sex at birth.

 Posted March 2012

 

Broward County recognizes the diversity of family configurations outside the bounds of traditional marriage, and has created a system for such relationships to be registered and recognized. Certain employee benefits can be extended to Registered Domestic Partners. County employees can elect insurance coverage for their Domestic Partners and use all forms of leave provided by the County to care for their Domestic Partners or the dependents of Domestic Partners. More...

Broward County requires all new hires to attend new hire orientation normally scheduled for their first day of employment in which employment laws are reviewed to ensure understanding of the letter of the law as well as the spirit. In addition, Broward County requires all new hires to complete a three-and-one-half hour Employment Issues training course that reviews County policies in such areas as ethics, judgment and sensitivity with a goal of creating harmony in the workplace.

 

The Broward County Call Center is a multi-lingual information hotline open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thirty percent of call center specialists are fluent in Spanish. Call center specialists who speak Creole, French and Portuguese are also available. Through an outside service provider, the Call Center is able to translate calls in over 150 languages. The Call Center can be reached by dialing 3-1-1- or at 954-831-4000. The TTY line for the hearing-impaired is 954-831-3940.