Florida Senate - 2014 CS for CS for SB 926
By the Committees on Rules; and Judiciary; and Senator Simpson
595-03710-14 2014926c2
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to wage theft; amending s. 34.01,
3 F.S.; expanding the original jurisdiction of county
4 courts; creating s. 448.115, F.S.; defining the term
5 “wage theft”; describing the occurrence of a wage
6 theft; authorizing an aggrieved employee to initiate a
7 civil action for wage theft; granting county courts
8 original and exclusive jurisdiction over actions
9 involving wage theft; specifying requirements to bring
10 a civil action for wage theft; authorizing a county,
11 municipality, or political subdivision to establish an
12 administrative process to assist in the collection of
13 compensation owed to an employee; preempting
14 regulation of wage theft to the state after a
15 specified date; exempting certain counties,
16 municipalities, and political subdivisions; providing
17 an effective date.
18
19 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
20
21 Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 34.01, Florida
22 Statutes, is amended to read:
23 34.01 Jurisdiction of county court.—
24 (1) County courts shall have original jurisdiction:
25 (a) In all misdemeanor cases not cognizable by the circuit
26 courts;
27 (b) Of all violations of municipal and county ordinances;
28 (c) Of all actions at law in which the matter in
29 controversy does not exceed the sum of $15,000, exclusive of
30 interest, costs, and attorney’s fees, except those within the
31 exclusive jurisdiction of the circuit courts; and
32 (d) Of disputes occurring in the homeowners’ associations
33 as described in s. 720.311(2)(a), which shall be concurrent with
34 jurisdiction of the circuit courts; and.
35 (e) Of all actions for the collection of compensation under
36 s. 448.115, notwithstanding the amount in controversy prescribed
37 in paragraph (c).
38 Section 2. Section 448.115, Florida Statutes, is created to
39 read:
40 448.115 Civil action for wage theft; notice; civil penalty;
41 preemption.—
42 (1)(a) As used in this section, the term “wage theft” means
43 an illegal or improper underpayment or nonpayment of an
44 individual employee’s wage, salary, commission, or other similar
45 form of compensation within a reasonable time from the date on
46 which the employee performed the work to be compensated.
47 (b) A wage theft occurs when an employer fails to pay a
48 portion of wages, salary, commissions, or other similar form of
49 compensation due to an employee within a reasonable time from
50 the date on which the employee performed the work, according to
51 the already applicable rate and the pay schedule of the employer
52 established by policy or practice. In the absence of an
53 established pay schedule, a reasonable time from the date on
54 which the employee performed the work is 2 weeks.
55 (2)(a) If an employer commits wage theft, an aggrieved
56 employee may initiate a civil action pursuant to this section.
57 (b) County courts have original and exclusive jurisdiction
58 in all actions involving wage theft, as provided in s.
59 34.01(1)(e). Notwithstanding s. 34.041, the filing fee for a
60 claim brought pursuant to this section may not exceed $50.
61 (c) The action shall:
62 1. Be brought in the county court in the county where the
63 employee performed the work; and
64 2. Be governed by the Florida Small Claims Rules.
65 (3)(a) Before bringing an action, the claimant must notify,
66 orally or in writing, the employer who is alleged to have
67 engaged in wage theft of his or her intent to initiate a civil
68 action.
69 (b) The notice must identify the amount that the claimant
70 alleges is owed, the actual or estimated work dates and hours
71 for which compensation is sought, and the total amount of
72 compensation unpaid through the date of the notice.
73 (c) The employer has 7 days after the date of service of
74 the notice to pay the total amount of unpaid compensation or
75 otherwise resolve the action to the satisfaction of the
76 claimant.
77 (4) The action must be filed within 1 year after the last
78 date that the alleged unpaid work was performed by the employee.
79 (5) The claimant must prove wage theft by a preponderance
80 of the evidence. A prevailing claimant is entitled to damages
81 limited to twice the amount of compensation due and owing. The
82 court may only award economic damages expressly authorized in
83 this subsection and may not award noneconomic or punitive
84 damages or attorney fees to a prevailing party, notwithstanding
85 s. 448.08.
86 (6)(a) A county, municipality, or political subdivision may
87 establish an administrative, nonjudicial process under which an
88 assertion of unpaid compensation may be submitted by, or on
89 behalf of, an employee in order to assist in the collection of
90 compensation owed to the employee. At a minimum, any such
91 process shall afford the parties involved an opportunity to
92 negotiate a resolution regarding the compensation in question.
93 The county, municipality, or political subdivision may, as part
94 of the process, assist the employee in completing an application
95 for a determination of civil indigent status under s. 57.082 and
96 may pay the filing fee under s. 34.041 on behalf of the
97 employee, if applicable. The process may not adjudicate a
98 compensation dispute between an employee and an employer nor
99 award damages to the employee.
100 (b) Any local regulation of wage theft enacted on or after
101 January 1, 2014, by a county, municipality, or other political
102 subdivision that exceeds the provisions of this section is
103 preempted to the state. A county, municipality, or other
104 political subdivision that has enacted a local ordinance or
105 resolution regulating wage theft before January 1, 2014, may
106 amend, revise, or repeal the ordinance or resolution on or after
107 January 1, 2014.
108 (c) Any other regulation, ordinance, or provision for the
109 recovery of unpaid compensation by a county, municipality, or
110 political subdivision is expressly prohibited and is preempted
111 to the state.
112 (7) This section does not preclude a person who commits
113 wage theft from being prosecuted for theft under s. 812.014.
114 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.