Florida Labor Laws 2024 | Wage And Hour Laws In Florida (2024)

Florida labor laws, including Florida labor laws 2024, impact the daily lives of employees and employers in Florida. Floridians have many questions that affect them every day regarding Florida labor laws from minimum wage rates, overtime, wage payments, vacation and sick leave, child labor, meal and rest breaks, and more.

In addition to Florida labor laws, employer must also comply with federal labor laws such as the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), and many other federal laws. And when federal laws are different from state Florida labor laws, usually companies must comply with the law that provides their workers the best protection.

Below we provide comprehensive information and resources regarding your more pressing Florida labor law questions to help you answer the question and help you make the right decision about you and your employment.

Minimum Wage

Florida’s current minimum wage rate is $10.00.

In November 2020, Florida voters approved a measure changing Florida labor laws allowing for incremental increases to the state minimum wage. Beginning September 30, 2022, and until September 29, 2023, Florida’s minimum wage is $11 per hour. The tip minimum wage is $7.98. Regardless of the amount, your employer cannot pay youlessthan minimum wage as long as you are eligible.

Here’s something else to keep in mind. At this point, Florida’s minimum wageprevails because it is higher than the minimum wage rate prescribed by federal law. Even so, businesses risk violating the federal laws pertaining to minimum wage by taking certain actions. Specifically, companiesare in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) if they cause an employee’s hourly pay rate to fall below the minimum wage by:

• Mandating that workers complete assignments by a deadline “off the clock.”
• Forcing workers to engage in job-related tasks during lunch and other breaks, while “the clock” reflects they have taken this time off.

For more information on Florida’s minimum wage laws, visit our Florida Minimum Wage Laws page, which includes topics such as minimum wage, tip minimum wage, tip sharing and pooling, and subminimum wages.

Related topic covered on other pages include:

• Compensable time (hours worked)
• Minimum wage and overtime exemptions

Overtime

Florida labor laws do not include rules governing the payment of overtime pay. Instead, federalovertime lawsset forth in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) apply. In general, these laws provide the following forcovered workers.

First, the employer must provide compensation in the form of extra pay for any time workedafterthe first 40 hours in any given workweek. This compensation, called overtime, must be made at a specified rate. This rate is equal to or greater than time and one-half times their regular rate of pay. So, an employee who earns $10 per hour for the first 40 hours in a workweek would get at least $15 per hour for time worked after the 40th hour.

Second, all provisions in federal overtime laws are based on the following definition of a workweek: a regular cycle comprising 168 hours or seven straight 24-hour periods. It does not have to match the calendar week. Instead, it may begin on any day and at any time. An employer can create different workweeks for different employees or groups of employees.

Exempt workers do not receive overtime. Under the FLSA, exempt workers are executives, or those who hold administrative or other professional positions. Additional criteria apply.

Prevailing Wages

Florida does not have a prevailing wage law that governs wage rates on government projects or service contracts.

Under certain circ*mstances, employers in Florida may be required to pay residents wage rates established by federal prevailing wage rates and rules. The prevailing wage rates may be different from the federal and state’s standard minimum wage rates.

Employees may be eligible for prevailing wages if they work on government or government-funded construction projects or perform certain government services. See the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts, McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA), and Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act (PCA) for more information about prevailing wages.

Breaks

Meals and Rest Breaks

Florida labor laws require employers to grant a meal period of at least 30 minutes to employees under the age of 18 who work for more than 4 hours continuously. FL Statute 450.081(4).

Florida does not have any laws requiring an employer to provide a meal period or breaks to employees 18 years of age or older, thus the federal rule applies. The federal rule does not require an employer to provide either a meal (lunch) period or breaks. However, if an employer chooses to do so, breaks, usually of the type lasting less than 20 minutes, must be paid. Meal or lunch periods (usually 30 minutes or more) do not need to be paid, so long as the employee is free to do as they wish during the meal or lunch period. DOL: Breaks and Meal Periods.

Nursing Mother Breaks

Florida labor laws do not require employers to provide nursing mothers with breaks to express breast milk. However, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act requires certain employees to provide nonexempt nursing mothers for one (1) year following a child’s birth with reasonable rest breaks to express milk and private spaces, other than a bathroom, to express breast milk.

Leave laws

Vacation Leave

The provision of paid vacation time for employees is not a requirement under Florida labor laws. Even so, most private-sector employers do provide vacation as a “perk” or benefit for full-time employees. Relevant policies are usually documented in an employee handbook or similar manual. It is up to individual employers to adhere to any such policies or risk legal action.

That being stated, employers also have certain legal rights. Among other things, an employer can create and enforce a so-called “use it or lose it” policy. This type of policy prevents employees from hoarding vacation time by mandating that they take it by a certain date or forfeit their right to use it.

If an employer provides employees with paid or unpaid leave for vacation, they must adhere to these standards set out in the employment contract or vacation leave policy.

Additional information about Florida vacation leave laws may now be found on ourFlorida Leave Lawspage.

Sick Leave

In Florida, paid sick leave is much like vacation leave. Private-sector employers are not obligated to provide it under applicable labor laws, but they can offer it if they so choose. If a private business does not offer paid sick leave, an employee may still be able to take unpaid time off in accordance with federal laws to deal with personal or family illnesses and related matters.

If an employer provides employees with unpaid or paid sick leave, they must adhere to these standards as set out in the employment contract or sick leave policy.

Also, an Florida employer may also be required to provide eligible employees with unpaid sick leave according to the regulations set out in the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or other federal laws.

Information about Florida sick leave laws may now be found on our Florida Leave Laws page.

Holiday Leave

Florida officially recognizes 19 holidays. Some of these, such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, Labor Day and Memorial Day, are recognized throughout the U.S. Others, such as Pascua Florida Day (April 2), Robert E. Lee’s birthday (January 19) and Jefferson Davis’s birthday (June 3) are unique to certain states or regions. In any case, there is no Florida regulation mandating thatprivate-sectoremployers give their workers any holidays off with or without pay. However, Floridians working in the public sector do get these days off with compensation.

State-recognized and observed holidays in Florida include New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. day, Lincoln’s birthday, Good Friday, Confederate Memorial Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veteran’s day, general elections day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

If an employer provides employees with unpaid or paid holiday leave, they must adhere to these standards set out in the employment contract or holiday leave policy.

Information about Florida holiday leave laws may now be found on our Florida Leave Laws page.

Jury Duty Leave

Jury Duty is one of those civic duties that most people dread. However, fulfilling this requirement is a legitimate excuse to take off work. Accordingly, Florida law mandates that employers allow employees to take time off for this purpose. It also precludes them from threatening to fire someone who is called to appear for jury duty or for serving on a jury.

Employers are not required to pay an employee for responding to jury duty.

Information about Florida jury duty leave laws may now be found on our Florida Leave Laws page.

Voting Leave

In the private sector, allowing employees to take time away from work to vote in local, state or federal elections is discretionary. Even without an applicable regulation or labor laws mandating that they do so, many employers do allow employees to take time off to vote. However, they can — and often do — restrict the amount of time allowed way from work to vote.

Florida employers are not required to provide employees with paid or unpaid voting leave.

Information about Florida voting leave laws may now be found on our Florida Leave Laws page.

Severance Pay

Florida labor laws do not require employers to provide employees with severance pay. If an employer chooses to provide severance benefits, it must comply with the terms of its established policy or employment contract.

Unemployment

Under certain circ*mstances, Florida residents may be eligible for unemployment benefits while they search for another job. You are required to certify that you are unemployed on a weekly basis to receive these benefits.

Workers in Florida can receive unemployment benefits as long as various qualifications are met. First, you must have lost your job through no fault of your own. If you quit your job, it must have been for a good reason. If you quit for personal reasons or were terminated due to misconduct, you will also not qualify. However, poor job performance does not disqualify you from unemployment.

Next, you must also be partially or totally employed. If you are partially employed, your hours were significantly reduced. You must have also earned at least $3,400 before taxes during the base period, which is the first four complete quarters that start 18 months before your claim. You must then also be actively seeking work, able to work, and available for work.

See Florida State Unemployment Benefits.

Other Florida Labor Laws Topics and Resources

There are several other Florida labor laws governing the employers and their workplaces. Below are those topics and resources:

• Florida Child Labor Laws covers topics including work during school hours and summer hours, school days and summer days, hour restrictions, and hazardous occupations.
• The Florida Civil Rights Act are enforced by the Florida Commission on Human Relations. Employees are also protected by federal discrimination laws enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The state and federal discrimination laws offer employees protections and violations based on the following:

• Florida wage payment laws including covering frequency and manner of wage payments, regular paydays, pay periods, deductions, direct deposit and payroll cards, pay statements, record keeping, final paychecks, and notice requirements.
• Florida labor laws regarding minimum wage and overtime exemptions covering non-exempt employees and exempt employees.
• Florida labor laws regarding hours worked including rest breaks, meal breaks, on-call, waiting, travel, sleeping, and meeting times.
• Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) covers federal workplace safety and health requirements. For information about Florida state laws regarding workplace safety and health visit the Florida Department of Health and its Occupational Health and Safety Program (OHSP).
• Active employees, including those in the national guard, and veterans may also be eligible for military leave under the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).
• The Florida Workers’ Compensation Division manages the state’s worker compensation insurance claims and enforcement. Employees who are injured on the job may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits that minimizes the financial impact on the employee.
• If Florida employers provide employees health insurance benefits, they must comply with the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) that provides health coverage protections to employees under certain circ*mstances such as voluntary or involuntary job loss, reduction in the hours worked, transition between jobs, death, divorce, and other life events.

Other State’s Labor Law and Wage and Hour Information