Florida Law
| Resources
Florida Department of Business
and Professional Regulation,
Child Labor Program Florida New Hire Reporting Center Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Workers’ Compensation USF Safety Florida U.S. Department of Labor U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission U.S. Department of Justice
Americans with Disabilities Act U.S. Department of Labor
Occupational Safety and Health Administration Florida Bar Lawyer Referral Service |
» Child Labor
The law applies to workers under 18. They cannot work in hazardous occupations such as firefighting, excavation, electrical work, roofing, mining, operating heavy machinery or moving vehicles, or around explosives or dangerous equipment. There are additional occupations banned for children ages 14 and 15. Minors cannot work during school hours without an exemption.
» Workers’ Compensation
Florida law requires employers that are not in the construction industry and have four or more employees, either full time or part time, to have workers’ compensation coverage for their employees. In the construction industry, workers’ compensation coverage is required when there is at least one or more full time or part time employees. Unless exempt, corporate officers are included in the definition of “employee.”
For employers engaged in the construction industry, up to three corporate officers or three members of a limited liability company (LLC) who own at least 10% of the corporation or company may exempt themselves from carrying workers’ compensation coverage.
Agricultural employers who have more than five regular employees and/or 12 or more seasonal workers (employed for at least 30 days) are required to have coverage.
» New Hire Reporting
Employers are required to provide information on all newly hired and rehired full-time and part-time employees within 20 days. This mandate is to comply with the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, which seeks to expedite collection of child support from parents who change jobs frequently.
» Minimum Wage
In 2004, Floridians voted for a state constitutional amendment to establish a state minimum wage that increases with inflation. Florida’s minimum wage applies to all employees covered by the federal minimum wage law. For 2010, Florida’s minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, the same as the federal minimum wage; tipped employees who meet the eligibility requirements of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act may be paid a direct wage of $4.23 an hour.
Federal Law
» Equal Opportunity Laws
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces federal employment discrimination laws.
The law prohibits discrimination on the basis or race, color, religion, sex and national origin. Title VII applies to employers with 15 or more employees. The Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992 adds age, disability and marital status to the protected classes.
» Age Discrimination in
Employment Act of 1967
This law bars employers with 20 or more employees from discriminating against individuals age 40 and older.
» Equal Pay Act of 1963
The EPA prohibits wage discrimination between men and women in substantially equal jobs within the same establishment. The law applies to virtually all employers.
» Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities and ensures equal opportunity for them.
Title I of the ADA: Prohibits employment discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities; applies to employers with 15 or more employees.
Title III of the ADA: Requires that public accommodations and commercial facilities be designed to comply with accessibility standards; applies to all businesses that own, operate, lease or lease to a place of public accommodation. It includes restaurants, hotels, theaters, doctors’ offices, retail stores and other public facilities.
» Labor Department Laws
The U.S. Department of Labor oversees many employment laws, including the Family and Medical Leave Act, Fair Labor Standards Act and Occupational Safety and Health Act.
» Fair Labor Standards Act
The Fair Labor Standards Act applies to most businesses involved in interstate commerce. It requires payment of the minimum wage and overtime pay of not less than one-and-one-half times the regular pay rate after 40 hours of work. It restricts employment of children under age 16 and forbids employers from hiring children age 18 for certain dangerous jobs.
Some employees are exempt on a case-by-case basis from one or more of the major requirements — overtime pay, minimum wage and child labor restrictions. Common exemptions include commissioned sales people, drivers, farmworkers, seasonal workers and white-collar professionals. Check with the U.S. Department of Labor on exemptions.
» Family and Medical Leave Act
The law, which applies to businesses with 50 or more employees, gives certain employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year while preserving their health benefits during the period. Employees may take leave for the birth of a child, if they adopt a child or provide foster care, care for a seriously ill spouse, child or parent, or suffer a serious health condition.
» Occupational Safety and
Health Act of 1970
Federal law requires businesses to provide a safe workplace and, in many cases, maintain records of job-related injuries and illnesses. Employers with 10 or fewer employees are exempt from most requirements of the recordkeeping rule, as are industries classified as low-hazard — retail, service, finance, insurance and real estate.
» Making the Grade
Berry Lamy has parlayed a small tutoring service in Broward County into a million-dollar venture that works with teachers in 35 Florida counties as well as Alabama, Missouri, Georgia and Massachusetts. Lamy, who graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a business degree, got the idea for an affordable tutoring service from his wife, a high school math teacher.
 Berry Lamy, JFK Tutoring, Broward County [Photo: Eileen Escarda] |
The couple began tutoring at Broward’s Oakland Park Library in 2003 and within a year decided to open an office in the Coral Ridge Mall. The idea was to continue to focus on affordable rates, as low as $15 an hour, for students from families with modest incomes. While Lamy struggled to line up financing for the facility — a combination of personal loans and a small bank loan — Sylvan Learning Center beat them to the location. Lamy’s company, JFK Tutoring, instead opened in a North Lauderdale strip center with a Publix and Home Depot. “It was a blessing in disguise,” says Lamy, noting that the center is within five miles of 10 schools with low-income students.
The turning point for JFK Tutoring came in 2005 when Jackie Rule, a procurement counselor with the FAU Small Business Development Center, suggested that Lamy look at government contracts. He tapped into Broward’s funding for the federal No Child Left Behind program, later adding Miami-Dade and Palm Beach county contracts.
Because Lamy doesn’t get the contract payments until after he tutors the students, cash flow has been an ongoing challenge. When bank lending put the brakes on expansion, he turned to factoring — selling accounts receivables for upfront cash. “It was a huge challenge just to keep the business operational and not lose money,” says Lamy.
Lamy projects 2010 revenues of $1.5 million, almost double his sales for 2009. He still has the North Lauderdale tutoring office, but much of his focus is on Tutorwell, a website that lets parents search for tutors who provide in-home instruction in their local area. Tutorwell checks teacher certifications, does background screening and offers structured training for tutors. He has more than 400 teachers participating in the program.