F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
HB 137 2023
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Department of Labor; creating
3 s. 20.71, F.S.; creating the Department of Labor as a
4 new department of state government; providing for the
5 secretary of the department to be appointed by the
6 Governor and confirmed by the Senate; authorizing the
7 secretary to establish divisions and regional offices
8 of the department; providing the purpose of the
9 department; authorizing the department to adopt rules;
10 amending s. 448.109, F.S.; revising requirements for
11 notifying employees of certain rights; conforming
12 provisions to changes made by the act; amending s.
13 448.110, F.S.; designating the Department of Labor as
14 the state Agency for Workforce Innovation for purposes
15 of implementing s. 24, Art. X of the State
16 Constitution; providing definitions; revising the
17 protected rights of an employee; creating a rebuttable
18 presumption and burden of proof for an employer;
19 revising the process for filing a complaint for a
20 violation of protected rights; prohibiting a person or
21 entity from entering into certain contracts;
22 authorizing and providing the department certain
23 powers to conduct investigations, issue citations,
24 enforce and collect judgments by certain means, and
25 partner with other entities for enforcement and
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26 education outreach; providing for injunctive relief
27 under certain circumstances; providing a process for
28 review of a citation, levy, or stop-order issued by
29 the department; providing penalties; tolling the
30 statute of limitations during an investigation;
31 providing liability; requiring certain records be
32 maintained for a specified length of time; creating s.
33 448.111, F.S.; creating the Department of Labor
34 Community Advisory Board within the Department of
35 Labor; providing for membership, meetings, and duties
36 of the advisory board; requiring an annual report to
37 the Secretary of the Department of Labor, the
38 Governor, and the Legislature by a specified date;
39 providing an effective date.
40
41 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
42
43 Section 1. Section 20.71, Florida Statutes, is created to
44 read:
45 20.71 Department of Labor; creation; powers and duties. —
46 (1) There is created the Department of Labor.
47 (2) The head of the department is the Secretary of Labor,
48 who shall be appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation
49 by the Senate. The secretary shall serve at the pleasure of and
50 report to the Governor.
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51 (3) The secretary may create divisions within the
52 department and allocate various functions of the department
53 among such divisions.
54 (4)(a) The headquarters of the department shall be located
55 in Tallahassee. However, the department may establish regional
56 offices throughout the state as the secretary deems necessary
57 for the efficient operation of the department in accomplishing
58 its purpose.
59 (b) The purpose of the department is to enforce s. 24,
60 Art. X of the State Constitution, s. 448.110, and any other law
61 that the department has enforcement authority over as designated
62 by the Legislature.
63 (5) The department may adopt rules as necessary to carry
64 out the functions and purposes of the department.
65 Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section
66 448.109, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
67 448.109 Notification of the state minimum wage.—
68 (3)(a) Each year the Department of Labor Department of
69 Economic Opportunity shall, on or before December 1, create and
70 make available to employers a poster in English, and in Spanish,
71 and any other languages, as necessary. The poster must give
72 notice of all of the following:
73 1. The right to the minimum wage as provided by s. 24,
74 Art. X of the State Constitution and s. 448.110.
75 2. The right to be protected from retaliation for
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76 exercising in good faith any right protected under s. 24, Art. X
77 of the State Constitution and s. 448.110.
78 3. The right to file a complaint with the Department of
79 Labor or bring a civil action in a court of competent
80 jurisdiction for a violation of s. 24, Art. X of the State
81 Constitution or s. 448.110. which reads substantially as
82 follows:
83 NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES
84 The Florida minimum wage is $ ...(amount)... per hour, with a
85 minimum wage of at least $ ...(amount)... per hour for tipped
86 employees, in addition to tips, for January 1, ...(year)...,
87 through December 31, ...(year)....
88 The rate of the minimum wage is recalculated yearly on September
89 30, based on the Consumer Price Index. Every year on January 1
90 the new Florida minimum wage takes effect.
91 An employer may not retaliate against an employee for exercising
92 his or her right to receive the minimum wage. Rights protected
93 by the State Constitution include the right to:
94 1. File a complaint about an employer's alleged
95 noncompliance with lawful minimum wage requirements.
96 2. Inform any person about an employer's alleged
97 noncompliance with lawful minimum wage requirements.
98 3. Inform any person of his or her potential rights under
99 Section 24, Article X of the State Constitution and to
100 assist him or her in asserting such rights.
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101 An employee who has not received the lawful minimum wage after
102 notifying his or her employer and giving the employer 15 days to
103 resolve any claims for unpaid wages may bring a civil action in
104 a court of law against an employer to recover back wages plus
105 damages and attorney's fees.
106 An employer found liable for intentionally violating minimum
107 wage requirements is subject to a fine of $1,000 per violation,
108 payable to the state.
109 The Attorney General or other official designated by the
110 Legislature may bring a civil action to enforce the minimum
111 wage.
112 For details see Section 24, Article X of the State Constitution.
113 Section 3. Section 448.110, Florida Statutes, is amended
114 to read:
115 448.110 State minimum wage; annual wage adjustment;
116 enforcement.—
117 (1) This section may be cited as the "Florida Minimum Wage
118 Act."
119 (2) The purpose of this section is to provide measures
120 appropriate for the implementation of s. 24, Art. X of the State
121 Constitution, in accordance with authority granted to the
122 Legislature under pursuant to s. 24(f), Art. X of the State
123 Constitution. To implement s. 24, Art. X of the State
124 Constitution, the Department of Labor Department of Economic
125 Opportunity is designated as the state Agency for Workforce
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126 Innovation.
127 (3) As used in this section, the term:
128 (a) "Adverse action" means the discharge, suspension,
129 transfer, or demotion of an employee; the withholding of wage,
130 bonuses, benefits, or workable hours; filing, or threatening to
131 file, a false report with a government agency or engaging in
132 unfair immigration-related practices; or any other adverse
133 action taken against an employee within the terms and conditions
134 of employment by an employer.
135 (b) "Client employer" means a business entity, regardless
136 of its form, that obtains or is provided employees to perform
137 labor within its usual course of business from a labor
138 contractor. The term does not include:
139 1. A business entity with a workforce of 25 or fewer
140 employees, including those hired directly by the client employer
141 and those obtained from or provided by a labor contractor.
142 2. A business entity with a workforce of 5 or fewer
143 employees supplied by a labor contractor to the client employer
144 at any given time.
145 3. The state or a political subdivision of the state.
146 (c) "Department" means the Department of Labor.
147 (d) "Employee" has the same meaning as established under
148 the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and its implementing
149 regulations in effect on July 1, 2023.
150 (e) "Employer" has the same meaning as established under
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151 the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and its implementing
152 regulations in effect on July 1, 2023.
153 (f) "Judgment debtor" means each person who is liable on a
154 judgment or order to pay a sum of money that remains
155 unsatisfied.
156 (g) "Labor contractor" means a person or entity that
157 supplies, with or without a contract, a client employer with
158 employees to perform labor within the client employer's usual
159 course of business. The term does not include a bona fide
160 nonprofit, community-based organization that provides services
161 to employees or a labor organization or apprenticeship program
162 operating under a collective bargaining agreement.
163 (h) "Secretary" means the secretary of the department.
164 (i) "Usual course of business" means the regular and
165 customary work of a business performed within or upon the
166 premises or worksite of the client employer.
167 (4)(3) Effective May 2, 2005, employers shall pay
168 employees a minimum wage at an hourly rate of $6.15 for all
169 hours worked in Florida. Only those individuals entitled to
170 receive the federal minimum wage under the federal Fair Labor
171 Standards Act and its implementing regulations shall be eligible
172 to receive the state minimum wage under pursuant to s. 24, Art.
173 X of the State Constitution and this section. Sections 213 and
174 214 The provisions of ss. 213 and 214 of the federal Fair Labor
175 Standards Act, as interpreted by applicable federal regulations
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176 and implemented by the Secretary of Labor, are incorporated
177 herein.
178 (5)(a)(4)(a) Beginning September 30, 2005, and annually on
179 September 30 thereafter, the department of Economic Opportunity
180 shall calculate an adjusted state minimum wage rate by
181 increasing the state minimum wage by the rate of inflation for
182 the 12 months prior to September 1. In calculating the adjusted
183 state minimum wage, the department of Economic Opportunity shall
184 use the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical
185 Workers, not seasonally adjusted, for the South Region or a
186 successor index as calculated by the United States Department of
187 Labor. Each adjusted state minimum wage rate shall take effect
188 on the following January 1, with the initial adjusted minimum
189 wage rate to take effect on January 1, 2006.
190 (b) The Department of Revenue and the department of
191 Economic Opportunity shall annually publish the amount of the
192 adjusted state minimum wage and the effective date. Publication
193 shall occur by posting the adjusted state minimum wage rate and
194 the effective date on the Internet home pages of the department
195 of Economic Opportunity and the Department of Revenue by October
196 15 of each year. In addition, to the extent funded in the
197 General Appropriations Act, the department of Economic
198 Opportunity shall provide written notice of the adjusted rate
199 and the effective date of the adjusted state minimum wage to all
200 employers registered in the most current reemployment assistance
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201 database. Such notice shall be mailed by November 15 of each
202 year using the addresses included in the database. Employers are
203 responsible for maintaining current address information in the
204 reemployment assistance database. The department of Economic
205 Opportunity is not responsible for failure to provide notice due
206 to incorrect or incomplete address information in the database.
207 The department of Economic Opportunity shall provide the
208 Department of Revenue with the adjusted state minimum wage rate
209 information and effective date in a timely manner.
210 (6)(a)(5) It is shall be unlawful for an employer or any
211 other party to discriminate in any manner or take adverse action
212 against any person in retaliation for exercising rights
213 protected under pursuant to s. 24, Art. X of the State
214 Constitution or this section.
215 (b) Rights protected un