Florida Labor Laws that Could Impact Your Business (2021)

Florida has fairly straightforward state labor laws regulating your business. However, it’s important to know how Florida minimum wage will change over time and consider how to handle sick leave in the absence of state sick leave laws.

If you’re a business owner in Florida, here are a few important requirements for minimum wage, overtime, and sick leave.

Florida Minimum Wage

The minimum wage for Florida is currently set at $8.65. The minimum wage will adjust annually based on a set formula.

Effective September 30, 2021, the new Florida minimum hourly rate will increase to $10 per hour.

Every September 30 following, the minimum wage will increase $1.00 per hour through 2026, according to the following schedule:

• $11.00 on September 30, 2022

• $12.00 on September 30, 2023

• $13.00 on September 30, 2024

• $14.00 on September 30, 2025

• $15.00 on September 30, 2026

Florida Overtime Laws

Florida labor laws require employers to pay overtime pay one and a half times an employee’s normal hourly rate, if an employee works over 40 hours in a workweek. Therefore, Florida's current overtime minimum wage is $12.98 per hour, one and a half times the regular Florida minimum wage of $8.65 per hour.

In addition to guaranteeing overtime for all hours worked over 40 in a single week, Florida requires that manual laborers working more than 10 hours in a single day receive overtime pay for those hours as well.

By federal law, a covered, nonexempt employee is entitled to compensation for overtime. The federal overtime provisions contained in the FLSA require an employee receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 hours in a workweek.

Florida Sick Leave

Currently there is no Florida state legislation that makes giving employees paid sick leave a mandatory requirement for employers.

However, as stated in the federal Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act, covered employers may provide employees up to two weeks (80 hours, or a part-time employee’s two-week equivalent) of emergency paid sick leave, which can only be used for specified reasons related to COVID-19.

The rate of pay for this leave varies depending on the reason for its use.

The leave pay should be the employee’s regular rate of pay, as determined under section 7(e) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, if the employee is unable to work due to any of the following:

• Being quarantined by order of the federal, state or local authority, or at the advice of a health care provider.

• Experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis.

• Being tested or awaiting the results of a diagnostic test for, or a medical diagnosis of, COVID-19 due either to exposure or employer request (valid only after April 1, 2021).

• Obtaining immunization for COVID-19 or recovering from any injury, disability, illness or condition related to such immunization (valid only after April 1, 2021).

The leave pay should not be less than two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay, as determined under section 7(e) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, if the employee is unable to work for any of the following reasons:

• A legitimate need to care for an individual subject to quarantine ordered by the federal, state or local authority, or at the advice of a health care provider.

• Caring for a child under 18 whose school or child-care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19.

• Experiencing a substantially similar condition as specified by the secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the secretaries of the Treasury and Labor.

Since December 31, 2020, employers are no longer required to provide employees with FFCRA leave, but employers who choose to provide such leave between January 1, 2021 and September 30, 2021 may be eligible for employer tax credits. Effective April 1, 2021, covered employers may claim tax credits for up to ten days (80 hours) of Emergency Paid Sick Leave.

Start or Grow a Business in Florida

If you’re starting a business in Florida, or trying to scale your operations, make sure you have a strategy for attracting new hires, managing back-office administrative tasks, and keeping compliant with state labor laws and regulations. It pays to offer competitive employee benefits packages, run payroll with flexible payroll software, and take care of business due diligence with necessary compliance support for your employer-related needs.

Learn how Justworks helps small businesses run with confidence.