According to a federal judge, a portion of Florida‘s Stop WOKE Act that targets private enterprises has been prohibited because it “could be located in an alternate dimension.” According to The New York Times, the law, which goes by the acronym WOKE for Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees, was created to fight “woke indoctrination” in Florida businesses and schools by outlawing instruction that might lead some people to believe they bear
“personal responsibility” for historical wrongdoings because of their race, sex, or national origin. The legislation, supported by Governor Ron DeSantis, forbids employers in Florida from requiring staff members to participate in diversity training that can cause them to feel uneasy or guilty about their race due to previous occurrences. Additionally, it forbids any discussion of benefits or drawbacks based on race.
“In Florida, we won’t let the far-left woke agenda rule our workplaces and educational institutions. When the Individual Freedom Act, as it is technically known, was passed into law in April, DeSantis declared that there was “no place in Florida for indoctrination or prejudice.” What the judge decided: Declaring the statute to be unconstitutional, U.S.
District Judge Mark Walker issued a temporary injunction barring its essential elements. He said it was unconstitutionally vague and violated the First Amendment. “The ‘upside down’ implies a parallel universe featuring a warped version of our world,” Walker said of the hit television show ‘Stranger Things. “Now, like the protagonist in ‘Stranger Things,’ this court is asked once more to turn Florida around,” the judge said.
Who is suing:
A number of companies joined together to challenge the rule in federal court, including the honeymoon registry technology company Honeyfund.com, the Florida-based Ben & Jerry’s franchisee Primo Tampa, the workplace diversity consultancy Collective Concepts, and its co-founder Chevara Orrin. According to Politico, they claimed that the new law infringes on their right to free expression.
They contend that the law interferes with employer training initiatives that emphasize inclusion, diversity, the eradication of bias, and the prevention of harassment in the workplace. On behalf of students and educators, the ACLU, the ACLU of Florida, and the Legal Defense Fund last week filed another lawsuit in federal court against the “anti-woke” legislation.
What a constitutional expert says:
According to Stetson University law professor Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, “constitutional academics like myself warned Florida that this had so many constitutional concerns, even in drafting. This was couched in language that sounded as though it was about individual choice but actually prevents people from saying and learning particular things.
Under the First Amendment, the government does not have the right to tell us what to think. Torres-Spelliscy hoped the decision will deter the governor and other governors in the future from passing “thought-control laws” in the same way that DeSantis did.
What follows is what?
The DeSantis administration has stated that it will contest Walker’s judgment.
According to Taryn Feske, the director of DeSantis’ communications, “Judge Walker has basically declared that businesses have a First Amendment right to train their employees in white supremacy.”
