Gessner v. Southern Company
The Florida Supreme Court resolved a certified conflict among the district courts over the standard for a private-sector whistle-blower claim under §448.102(3). The Court held that an employee must prove the employer's activity is definitionally 'in violation of law' — rejecting both the 4th DCA's 'good faith reasonable belief' standard and any requirement that an actual, completed, or adjudicated violation be proven. Summary judgment for the employer was approved under the tipsy-coachman doctrine because Gessner failed to show any specific conduct that was definitionally illegal.
Key facts
- Clint Gessner worked as a welder mechanic at a Gulf Power Company plant in Pensacola beginning in 2008; Gulf Power is a subsidiary of Southern Company.
- Over his tenure Gessner accumulated multiple formal reprimands and was placed on a probationary status; Gulf Power ultimately terminated him after he used racially disparaging language during a meeting, citing that episode as the precipitating cause.
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Holdings
- Under §448.102(3), Florida's private-sector Whistle-Blower's Act, an employee must establish that the employer's activity, policy, or practice to which the employee objected is — by…
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Why it matters
This decision resolves a three-way certified conflict that had produced materially different results across Florida's appellate districts since 2013. Employers defending whistle-blower claims no longer face the broad… — full analysis with a trial
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