Florida Overtime Laws – All You Need To Know

If you qualify for overtime in Florida and you have worked a number of hours that go beyond your scheduled workweek, it is not unreasonable to expect your employer to give you what you are owed. You worked for that money. You deserve to be paid every cent. If your employer tries to withhold your overtime pay, it may be time to consult with an overtime lawyer to see what your options are. Understanding the Florida overtime laws can be a good place to start.

The legal team at the Law Offices of Gary A. Costales, P.A., can help you understand the way that Florida’s comprehensive and protective overtime laws work. In fact, your employment lawyer can help you understand the full scope of Florida’s labor laws so you can better understand your position and recognize if this ever happens to you again. The last thing you want is for your employer to try to weaponize your own paycheck against you. You have more power than you may think.

Overtime Laws in Florida

It is not uncommon for an employer to try and take advantage of their employees in some way. It’s not a situation unique to Florida. According to information from the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor, over 152,000 employees were taken advantage of in some way by their employers throughout the country in 2024. Many of those cases were overtime disputes, wrongful terminations, and other workplace incidents that warranted legal action.

According to Florida state law, it is illegal for your employer to withhold overtime pay if you are a qualifying, non-exempt employee working past your required 40 hours a week for full-time work. You are entitled to that pay if you worked for it. It’s that simple. The standard rate for overtime in Florida is one and a half times the employee’s hourly rate, assuming the employee is permitted to work more than 40 hours in a single workweek. You may not be permitted.

If your employer is withholding a significant portion of your paycheck, that can have serious repercussions on your financial health. While you try to get it sorted out with a lawyer’s help, you may want to consider reaching out to a West Palm Beach financial support group or advisor, such as The United Way of Palm Beach County or Community Partners of South Florida. Talking to someone about your situation can be beneficial and may provide you with perspective.

It is also important to note that your employer cannot legally retaliate against you for taking legal action to get your overtime pay. Retaliation against employees is not permitted under Florida state law. If your employer tries to retaliate against you by giving you a pay cut, demoting you, or just firing you out of spite, you may have a case for wrongful termination on your hands. You should consider consulting a lawyer to learn what your options may be for that case.

How to File an Overtime Dispute Claim in Florida

In Florida, there are many different routes you can take to try and get your overtime dispute settled. Some may include lawyers and litigation, while others may not. If you can resolve it quietly, you should try to do so. If you can’t, you should consider taking legal action to ensure this doesn’t ever happen to you again. Here are some of the steps you may take to file an overtime dispute claim in Florida:

• First and foremost, you need to ensure that your case rests within the statute of limitations for overtime claims in Florida. Depending on the details of your case, the statute of limitations may be between two and three years. If the overtime dispute was willful, you may have more time to get your case together and file a claim for compensation, as well as your original overtime pay.
• Before you can take legal action, you will need to provide your employer with a written notice of your intent to take legal action. In this notice, you will have to include the amount you are owed in overtime pay, as well as the dates and hours that you worked to earn that overtime. If your employer decides to pay you and end this now, that may work out fine for you. You may want to continue with legal action, and that is also fine.
• If things have still not been resolved, you should consider filing a wage claim with the U.S. Department of Labor. Be sure to include all the evidence you have of your employer’s refusal to pay what you are owed. The DOL will then launch its own investigation. If possible, they may try to push for mediation between you and your employer.

FAQs

Florida Employment Lawyer

At the Law Offices of Gary A. Costales, P.A., we can help you face the legal challenges resulting from discrepancies in your overtime hours and wages. Contact us to speak with a team member about your case.