TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Florida taxpayers have paid more than $11 million in the past 30 years to settle more than 300 cases involving allegations of sexual harassment or a hostile work environment.
The Associated Press requested the information from the state agency that tracks payments made to settle federal lawsuits filed against state agencies and state universities.
The administration of Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis released a report detailing payments as far back as 1987. They range from a $5,500 payment made to a university scholarship student to a $1.3 million payment to settle a class action lawsuit filed by nurses at state prisons.
The report does not include $47,000 paid to a legislative analyst to keep her from filing a lawsuit against a powerful state lawmaker. That case never went to court.
