You did the right thing. You saw something wrong at work, you reported it, and your employer punished you for it. You fought back, hired a lawyer, sat through a trial, and a jury believed you. They awarded you damages not just for the wages you lost, but for the very real emotional toll that retaliation takes: the sleepless nights, the damaged reputation, the anxiety of not knowing if you would ever work in your field again. Then an appeals court took that away. That is the devastating reality handed down in Miami-Dade County v. Garavan, No. 3D25-0014 (Fla. 3d DCA Mar. 25, 2026).
Dr. David Garavan worked as a Medical Examiner for Miami-Dade County, he was a public employee. After he disclosed protected information, the County demoted him and eventually fired him. A jury heard the evidence and awarded him both economic damages, lost wages and benefits, and non-economic damages for the emotional distress and reputational harm he suffered. The County appealed. Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal affirmed the economic damages but stripped out the non-economic award entirely. The court’s reasoning: the government will only pay for your pain and suffering if the Legislature explicitly says it must, and under Florida’s Public Whistleblower Act (“FPWA”), it has not.
The jury found that Dr. Garavan’s suffering was real and compensable. However, the appeals court said it did not matter and that the government does not have to pay for that harm.The legal doctrine at work here is called sovereign immunity. It is a centuries-old rule that says the government cannot be sued unless it gives permission. Courts have repeatedly held that this waiver must be “clear, specific, and unequivocal” — meaning judges cannot simply decide the government should pay for emotional harm. Only the Legislature can open that door. As the court noted, citing Daly v. Marion Cnty., 265 So. 3d 644, 650 (Fla. 1st DCA 2018), sovereign immunity is absolute until lawmakers act.
What makes this ruling sting even more is that if you work in the private sector and your employer retaliates against you for whistleblowing, Florida Statute Section 448.103(2)(e), expressly allows you to recover “any other compensatory damages allowable at law”, which courts have confirmed includes emotional distress damages. See Aery v. Wallace Lincoln-Mercury, LLC, 118 So. 3d 904, 913 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013). The Florida Legislature wrote that broader language for private employees. It chose not to include it in the public-sector FPWA. Under Florida Statute Section 112.3187, public employees, including teachers, medical examiners, first responders, and all government workers who serve the public every day, are left with less protection than workers in non-government jobs.
What makes Garavan especially alarming is that it did not happen in a vacuum. In late 2025, Florida’s First District Court of Appeal reached the identical conclusion in Agency for Persons with Disabilities v. Toal, 406 So. 3d 978, 981–83 (Fla. 1st DCA 2025). That decision was already a devastating blow to prior precedent; courts had previously allowed non-economic damages under the FPWA without this sovereign immunity challenge ever being raised. Garavan doubled down, and now two appellate courts are closing the door on recovery of emotional damages.
It is critical to understand, however, that these rulings directly affect trial courts — the courts where most employees will actually fight their cases all across the entire state of Florida. Because no other district appellate court has ruled otherwise, trial courts throughout Florida are generally expected to follow the First and Third District decisions for now. The only courts with the freedom to rule differently are the Second, Fourth, and Fifth District Courts of Appeal, but only if an employee in one of those districts appeals a loss and asks that court to take a different view. Until that happens, Florida government employees face an uphill battle at the trial level to recover emotional damages. The fight is not over, but the trend is deeply troubling, and employees in every district should pay attention.
The bottom line: if you are a public employee in Florida and you blow the whistle, the FPWA still protects your job and your lost wages. The law currently leaves your emotional suffering uncompensated. The only way to fix this is for the Florida Legislature to amend the FPWA to expressly include non-economic damages, just as it did for private-sector workers. Employees, unions, and advocates need to push for that change now, before more courts follow suit and this gap in the law becomes permanent.
Whistleblower Protections Frequently Asked Questions
No. Under current Florida law, public employees generally cannot recover emotional distress damages under the Florida Public Whistleblower Act (FPWA). Recent appellate decisions, including Miami-Dade County v. Garavan, confirm that sovereign immunity bars these types of damages unless the Legislature explicitly allows them.
Public employees may recover economic damages such as lost wages, lost benefits, and other lost remuneration, and other legal remedies. However, courts have ruled that non-economic damages, like emotional distress and reputational harm, are not currently recoverable.
The court held that sovereign immunity limits what damages can be awarded against the government. Because the FPWA does not clearly authorize emotional distress damages, the court ruled that such damages are barred.
Sovereign immunity is a legal doctrine that protects government entities from being sued unless the Legislature clearly allows it. In whistleblower cases, this means courts cannot award certain damages, like emotional distress, unless the statute explicitly permits them.
Yes. Private-sector employees can recover a broader range of damages. Florida law allows them to seek “any other compensatory damages,” which courts have interpreted to include emotional distress damages.
These appellate decisions significantly limit recovery for public employees by eliminating emotional distress damages under the FPWA. Trial courts across Florida are likely to follow these rulings unless another appellate court disagrees or the Legislature changes the law.
Yes. Other District Courts of Appeal in Florida could reach a different conclusion if presented with the issue. Additionally, the Florida Legislature has the authority to amend the FPWA to explicitly allow emotional distress damages.
They should consult an experienced employment attorney immediately. While emotional damages may not currently be recoverable, employees may still be entitled to significant economic damages and other legal remedies.
Yes. The FPWA protects public employees who report or disclose certain types of wrongdoing, such as suspected violations of law, rule, or regulations, or gross mismanagement, misfeasance, malfeasance, etcetera. It prohibits retaliation such as termination, demotion, or other adverse employment actions.
The Florida Legislature would need to amend the FPWA to explicitly include non-economic damages. Without clear statutory language, courts will continue to apply sovereign immunity to bar those claims.