Rebekah Jones, who served as an Environmental Health Program Consultant in the Florida Department of Health's Division of Disease Control and Health Protection, has lost her lawsuit challenging her firing in 2020. The Florida Court of Appeal, with Judges Joseph Lewis, Ross Bilbrey, and Thomas Winokur presiding, upheld the termination.
In March 2020, Jones was assigned to work on the Department's COVID-19 Dashboard, an interactive tool illustrating COVID-19 testing data to the public. Around April 9, 2020, her supervisor, IT Director Craig Curry, learned that Jones had posted Facebook messages identifying herself as the person maintaining the Dashboard and explaining its data.
Jones alleged that her supervisor, Roberson, disapproved of her presentation because her COVID-19 figures exceeded reopening target rates for many counties. She testified that Roberson instructed her to lower infection rates and exempt smaller counties from the "scorecard" materials. However, the court found that Jones made no formal report of any legal violation or prohibited act by the Department of Health before her termination on May 18, 2020.
The court determined Jones had "ample opportunity to make a protected disclosure under the FWA … if she intended to do so after her alleged refusal to falsify data on April 26, 2020." It also noted Jones interfered with other employees' access to the COVID-19 Dashboard shortly before her firing and refused to restore access when directed.
On appeal, Jones did not argue that her refusal to comply with supervisor directives—such as refraining from public data dissemination until vetted, reconfiguring data for new purposes, or reinstating Dashboard access—was protected by the First Amendment.
The court concluded that Jones' actions did not constitute a protected whistleblower disclosure under Florida law. The COVID-19 Dashboard "owes its existence to a public employee's professional responsibilities," and the Department continues to "maintain the same level of accessibility and transparency."
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