Employer compliance guide
The Florida labor law guide
Understand Florida's minimum wage, overtime rules, and key labor law updates. Avoid costly mistakes and keep your business safe.
Contents7 sections
Wages and breaks
Florida minimum wage laws
$14.00
On September 30, 2025, Florida increased its minimum wage to $14.00. It will rise to $15.00 on September 30, 2026, completing the state’s constitutional step schedule to $15.
Tipped min wage
$10.98
The current minimum wage for tipped employees is $10.98.
Florida’s tipped minimum wage reflects the regular state minimum wage minus a $3.02 tip credit.
As of September 30, 2025, the full minimum wage increases to $14.00 per hour, making the tipped cash wage $10.98 per hour.
Florida overtime laws
1.5x
There are no statutes requiring employers to provide meal periods or breaks to employees 18 years of age or older, but federal law stipulates that non-exempt employees must be paid 1.5 times their normal wages for all hours worked in excess of 40 per workweek.
Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the minimum salary threshold for the administrative, professional, and executive exemptions is $684 per week, or $35,568 per year. This threshold remains in effect following the vacatur of the 2024 U.S. Department of Labor overtime rule by a federal court. Employees must also meet the applicable duties tests to qualify for exemption.
Florida Meal breaks
None
Florida does not require employers to provide meal breaks.
Minor breaks
30 min
per 4 hrs
Meal periods of at least 30 minutes must be provided to employees under the age of 18 who work more than 4 hours continuously.
Final paychecks in Florida
Florida law does not stipulate when an employer must pay wages to employees who are no longer working for the employer for any reason.
Florida child labor laws
14 and 15-year-old minors
Minors in the state of Florida who are 14 or 15 years old may not work before 7 a.m. and after 7 p.m. on days before a school day. They may not work more than 15 hours a week and no more than three hours on a school day unless they are enrolled in a career education program or if school is not scheduled the following day. On holidays and summer vacations, they may work between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 p.m., and no more than 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week.
16 and 17-year-old minors
Minors who are 16 and 17 years of age may not work before 6:30 a.m. and after 11 p.m. or for more than 8 hours a day before a school day. They may not work for more than 30 hours a week when school is in session, and they may not be employed during school hours unless they are enrolled in a career education program. Minors who work 8 or more hours in a day and 4 continuous hours during their shift must be provided a 30-minute uninterrupted meal break.
Florida law prohibits minors from working in these occupations.
Exemptions and Waivers
Exemptions may apply for high school graduates, emancipated minors, minors enrolled in career education programs, and minors who receive hardship waivers from the school superintendent. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) may grant additional waivers in extenuating circumstances.
Leave requirements
Required by this state
5Medical and family leaveRequired
Employers may be required to provide employees unpaid leave in accordance with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act.
Jury Duty LeaveRequired
An employee may not be discharged or penalized for responding to a jury summons or serving as a juror. An employer does not have to pay an employee for time spent responding to a jury summons.
Witness LeaveRequired
Employers cannot discharge an employee because they testified in response to a subpoena.
Military leaveRequired
Employers cannot discharge or discriminate against employees because they are members of or are called to active duty in the National Guard or a reserve component of the armed forces. Public school employees are entitled to paid leave for up to 30 days. All other employees may choose to use available paid leave but cannot be required to do so.
After serving in the National Guard, the employee is entitled to return to their job with the same seniority, rights, and benefits they would be entitled to if they had not taken military leave. For one year, the employer may not discharge the employee without cause.
The federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) is applicable to all employers in the United States.
Domestic Abuse or Sexual Assault LeaveRequired
Florida requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide leave to an employee who is a victim of domestic or sexual violence, or whose family or household member is a victim.
Eligible employees are entitled to up to three days of leave in any 12-month period. To qualify, the employee must have been employed for at least three months.
Leave may be used to seek an injunction for protection, obtain medical or mental health care, access victim services, secure the employee’s home or alternative housing, seek legal assistance, or attend court proceedings related to domestic or sexual violence.
Employees must exhaust all available annual, vacation, personal, or sick leave before taking this leave, unless the employer waives that requirement. The employer may determine whether the leave is paid or unpaid.
Employers must keep all information related to the leave confidential and may not interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of these rights, nor discharge or discriminate against an employee for taking such leave.
No state requirement
5Sick daysNot req.
Florida has no statute on sick days, but if an employer chooses to provide vacation time (either paid or unpaid), they must comply with the established terms in the employment contract or employee handbook.
Bereavement leaveNot req.
Employers are not required to provide bereavement leave.
Vacation timeNot req.
Florida does not have a statute for vacation time, but if an employer chooses to provide vacation time (either paid or unpaid), they must comply with the established terms.
Holiday leaveNot req.
Private employers are not required to provide paid or unpaid holiday leave, but if an employer chooses to do so, they must comply with the established terms.
Voting timeNot req.
Employers are not required to provide paid or unpaid time off to vote.
Hiring and firing
Florida anti-discrimination laws
Under the Florida Civil Rights Act (FCRA), it is unlawful for an employer to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age (40 and older), handicap, marital status, AIDS/HIV status, or sickle-cell trait.
The FCRA does not explicitly list sexual orientation or gender identity as protected classes. However, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020), the Florida Commission on Human Relations interprets discrimination “because of sex” to include sexual orientation and gender identity. As a result, these categories are protected through interpretation rather than express statutory language.
Certain local municipalities in Florida have enacted ordinances that explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Federal law separately prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), national origin, pregnancy, age (40 and older), disability, genetic information, military or veteran status, and citizenship or immigration status
Click here to read our blog on what is acceptable and unacceptable to ask during an interview.
Florida Termination Laws
Florida is an employment-at-will state, which means that without a written employee contract, employees can be terminated for any reason at any time, provided that the reason is not discriminatory.
Florida Record-Keeping Laws
Regarding employment and payroll data, under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and others, you must:
For at least 3 years: keep payroll records, certificates, agreements, notices, collective bargaining agreements, employment contracts, and sales and purchase records. Also keep completed copies of each employee’s I-9 for three years after they are hired. If the employee works longer than three years, hold on to the form for at least one year after the employee leaves.
For at least 2 years: Keep basic employment and earning records like timecards, wage-rate tables, shipping and billing records, and records of additions to or deductions from wages. Also keep the records that show why you may pay different wages to employees of different sexes, such as wage rates, job evaluations, seniority and merit systems, and collective bargaining agreements.
For at least 1 year: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says employers should keep all employment records for at least one year from the employee’s date of termination.
Other record-keeping laws that may apply to you:
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, you need to keep records of job-related injuries and illnesses for five years. But some records, like those covering toxic substance exposure, have to be kept for 30 years.
You must keep files of benefit plans and seniority and merit systems while they are in effect and for at least a year after they end. You must also retain summary descriptions and annual reports of benefits plans for six years.
If your company is covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act, you must also retain relevant records of leaves, notices, policies, and more for three years.
Additional laws that may apply to you
7 additional laws may apply. Open one to read the rule.
Florida final paychecks
Florida law does not specify when an employer must provide a final paycheck to a terminated employee.
However, under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers must issue final wages no later than the next regularly scheduled payday. In addition, if an employer’s policy, handbook, or employment contract specifies a timeframe for issuing final pay, that policy may be legally enforceable.
Employers must ensure compliance with federal wage payment requirements even in the absence of a specific state law.
Florida COBRA Laws
COBRA is a federal law that allows many employees to continue their health insurance benefits after their employment ends. Because federal COBRA applies only to employers with 20 or more employees, Florida has adopted a “mini-COBRA” law that applies to employers with fewer than 20 employees.
Under Florida’s mini-COBRA, eligible employees may continue group health insurance coverage for up to 18 months following a qualifying event. Coverage may extend up to 29 months if the individual is determined to be disabled.
The cost of continuation coverage may be up to 115% of the applicable premium. Employees must elect continuation coverage within 30 days of receiving notification of their rights.
Insurance policies must include notice of the right to continue coverage. Employers should inform employees of their continuation rights as soon as a triggering event occurs.
Florida Whistleblower protection Laws
Employers that have 10 or more employees may not discharge, discriminate, or retaliate against an employee because the employee reported or threatened to report an alleged violation of a law, rule, or regulation to the appropriate governmental agency, participated in the investigation of or proceeding related to the employer’s alleged violation, or opposed or refused to participate in any violation of a law, rule, or regulation.
Florida background check Laws
Florida requires what the state refers to as “Level 2” background checks on school district personnel who are not teachers. Other positions may also require a background check.
Florida Safety Committee law
Employers with 20 or more employees, or those found by the Florida Division of Safety to have a high rate of work-related injuries, are required to establish and maintain a workplace safety committee. Employees must be compensated for time spent in committee meetings or doing committee work.
Florida Telephone Monitoring law
Florida is an “all parties” consent state, meaning every person on a phone call must be aware that they are being monitored or recorded and have consented by placing or continuing the phone call.
This means employers may monitor or record phone calls between their own employees only if each employee has been given notice that phone calls may be monitored or recorded. However, phone calls placed by employees to outside parties may not be monitored or recorded unless the outside party has also consented. There are both criminal and civil penalties for violation of this law.
Compliance Calendar
Get our Compliance Calendar to stay informed about federal and state deadlines throughout the year: View it on your computer. Click + Google Calendar in the lower right to add it to your Google Calendar and subscribe to all updates. You can also download a calendar (.ics) file that you can import into iCal or Outlook, or download a PDF to your computer.
Remember
This summary is not qualified legal advice. Laws are always subject to change, and they can vary from municipality to municipality. It’s up to you to make sure you’re compliant with all laws and statutes in your area. If you need more compliance help, we recommend consulting with a qualified lawyer, checking with your local government agencies, or signing up for Homebase to get help from our certified HR Pros.
Staying compliant
Compliance you don’t have to remember
Homebase tracks breaks, overtime and paid time off as your team clocks in, flags the ones Florida treats as violations, and keeps the records if anyone asks for them.
- Overtime and double-time calculated from the clock, not from memory.
- Break and meal-period warnings before a shift is closed, not after payroll runs.
- Time cards, schedules and pay stubs kept together for the retention window.
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