Employment Law

The Five Wage and Hour Laws Every Employee in Florida Needs to Know featured image

The Five Wage and Hour Laws Every Employee in Florida Needs to Know

If you live and work in Florida, it’s important to have a firm understanding of the federal laws that are regulated by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and its Wage and Hour Division (WHD). It’s also important to know that separate wage and hour laws apply to the State of Florida as well. If your employer is violating any of these state or federal laws, you require the services of a Tampa wage and hour attorney.

State Laws Can Take Precedence

As Tampa wage and hour attorneys, we know that an employee can always defer to the preferential wage and hour laws established in their state. In other words, workers are always entitled to the favorable wage that applies to their state compared to the federal minimum wage. In Florida, this is beneficial as minimum wage employees earn more than the federal minimum wage.

The Five Wage and Hour Laws You Should Know

If you are employed and live in Florida, there are a few laws that every worker should be aware of. Here are the five laws every worker should know:

  1. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the federal law that establishes that every employee in the United States should earn a minimum wage of at least $7.25 per hour (excluding tipped employees). Under Florida law, employees are owed at least $8.25 per hour.
  2. If you live in a state where the minimum wage is below the federal minimum wage, the federal FLSA standard of $7.25 would apply to the majority of workers. For example, Georgia’s minimum hourly wage is set at $5.15 per hour, so workers should be compensated $7.25 per hour.
  3. Any non-exempt employee that works more than 40 hours in a workweek should be paid at a rate of one and one-half times their standard hourly rate for each additional hour that they work.
  4. FLSA considers exempt overtime employees to be “bona fide” executive, managerial, highly specialized or creative, full-time workers. In other words, hourly, freelance, or contract workers or employees that are not working in a highly skilled or administrative position should be compensated overtime pay.
  5. In Florida, workers that earn $30 or more per month in tipped compensation are referred to as a tipped employee. By law, these employees earn a cash wage of $5.23 per hour plus their additional compensation through paid tips. If the tipped employee fails to earn enough money to make up the difference of the minimum wage in Florida, the employer must compensate the tipped employee the difference owed.

If you would like to speak with one of our Tampa wage and hour attorneys, please contact us today.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for general educational information only. This information does not constitute legal advice, is not intended to constitute legal advice, nor should it be relied upon as legal advice for your specific factual pattern or situation.