Thank you for your interest in passing a non-discrimination policy in your community. This is intended to be a guide to help you understand the components that are necessary to pass the best policy and to help you develop the campaign you’ll need to get the job done.

What is an HRO?

An HRO is a Human Rights Ordinance. A Human Rights Ordinance is a policy passed on the local level (city or county) to prohibit discrimination based on certain characteristics. These policies often ban discrimination in housing, public accommodations, and employment. HRO policies most often ban discrimination based on race, religion, sex, disability, ethnicity, national origin and martial status.

A growing number of cities and counties are including sexual orientation and gender identity and expression in their policies. They understand that it is important to include lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in non-discrimination laws. A large part of the work we do at Equality Florida is to work with teams in communities all across the state to ensure LGBTQ people are covered under these laws. In fact, now a majority of Floridians live in a municipality that includes LGBTQ people in it’s non-discrimination laws.

Need More Info?

If you need more info about HROs or want to see what other communities in Florida have passed policies, please visit www.equalityflorida.org. If you have questions please e-mail Jon Harris Maurer, Equality Florida’s Public Policy Director, at [email protected].