What's the minimum wage in Florida right now?
Florida's minimum wage is $14.00 an hour, rising to $15.00 on September 30, 2026. That is the final scheduled step, after which the rate is adjusted for inflation each year.
Do I have to pay overtime to salaried employees?
Often yes. Salary alone does not make someone exempt from overtime. A worker must satisfy the salary basis test, the salary level test of $684 a week or $35,568 a year, and a duties test based on what they actually do. The duties test is where most misclassifications happen, and a job title decides nothing.
What is the salary threshold for exempt employees in 2026?
$684 a week, or $35,568 a year. The Department of Labor formally rescinded the higher 2024 figures in May 2026, so the $58,656 threshold widely reported in 2024 never took effect. The highly compensated employee threshold is $107,432.
What's the difference between a 1099 contractor and a W-2 employee?
A W-2 employee works under your direction, receives wages with taxes withheld, and is covered by minimum wage, overtime, unemployment, and workers' compensation. A 1099 contractor runs their own business and controls how the work gets done. What decides classification is how the work actually happens, not what the paperwork says.
Can I pay someone as a 1099 if they agree to it?
No. Classification is determined by the working relationship, not by mutual agreement. Every test in use holds that actual practice outweighs contract language, and a signed agreement describing a relationship you don't have is evidence against you.
My contractor has been with us three years. Is that a problem?
It's worth reviewing. Permanence points toward employee status under most classification tests, and a long-running exclusive relationship with someone using your equipment on your schedule is the most common misclassification pattern. Length alone doesn't decide it, but it's usually where the question starts.
Do construction subcontractors need workers' comp in Florida?
Under Florida law, anyone paid by a construction contractor as a subcontractor is treated as an employee for workers' compensation purposes unless they have validly elected an exemption or secured their own coverage. Construction is the strictest category in Florida, and a 1099 does not change the outcome.
What does misclassifying an employee cost?
Back overtime plus an equal amount in liquidated damages plus the worker's attorney's fees, back federal withholding and payroll taxes, back state reemployment tax, and back workers' compensation premium with penalties. Florida's workers' compensation misclassification penalty is $2,500 per worker for the first two at a site and $5,000 per worker after that. It applies retroactively and usually to everyone in the same role.
Is "no tax on tips" real, and what does it mean for employers?
It's a deduction on the employee's tax return, not an exemption from withholding. Federal income tax and FICA withholding continue unchanged. Employers gained new obligations: qualified tips and qualified overtime must be tracked and reported separately, with new W-2 codes beginning with 2026 earnings. Mandatory service charges and automatic gratuities do not qualify as tips.
Do I have to pay employees when we close for a hurricane?
It depends on classification. Non-exempt employees are generally owed only for hours actually worked. Exempt employees who perform any work during a workweek generally must receive their full weekly salary even if you were closed part of the week. If you close for a full workweek and the exempt employee does no work at all, the salary is generally not owed.