FL · state labor law, 2026
Florida labor laws: minimum wage, overtime, leave, final pay and breaks
Florida raises its minimum wage in the autumn, writes it into the state constitution and keeps cities from adding wage or leave rules of their own.
Florida and federal rules checked on official sources on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Minimum wage now
- $15.00/h
- Statewide
- Next change
- none announced
- checked October 11, 2026
- Tipped cash wage
- $11.98/h
- tips must make up the rest
- Overtime
- 40 h/week
- federal FLSA rule
- Paid sick leave
- no state law
- employer policy
- Paid family leave
- no program
- FMLA is unpaid
Florida's minimum wage became $15.00 an hour on September 30, 2026, up from $14.00, completing the dollar-a-year schedule that voters added to the state constitution in 2020. The date matters: Florida does not change its rate on January 1 like most states, but on September 30, and from 2027 the September increase will follow inflation. A full-time worker gains about $2,080 a year from this last step. Tipped employees must receive a cash wage of at least $11.98, because Florida freezes the tip credit at a fixed amount instead of letting it grow with the minimum. Overtime follows the federal 40-hour rule, and Florida has no state law requiring paid sick leave, paid family leave, meal breaks for adults or a deadline for a final paycheck. Cities and counties are not allowed to fill those gaps for private employers.
Gross pay for this week in Florida
$600
Time and a half after 40 hours in a week (federal rule)
| Minimum wage in Florida now | $15 an hour |
| Your rate against it | At or above the minimum |
| Overtime: none this week | $0 |
| Paid sick leave earned in a year | No statewide paid sick leave law |
| Breaks owed in a 8-hour shift | None for adults (minors only) |
| Final paycheck if fired | no Florida statute sets a deadline (federal law sets none either); the employer's regular payday and policy apply |
| Unused vacation at the end | No state rule: the employer policy decides |
| Paid family leave | No state program |
40 hours a week at $15. State rule applied. Minimum wage, overtime and leave rules have exceptions by employer size and industry. How this is calculated.
Why Florida raises pay on September 30
The minimum wage sits in Article X, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution, not in an ordinary statute. The 2020 amendment set a $1 increase each September 30 until the rate reached $15.00, which happened this year. From September 30, 2027, the state recalculates the figure every year from the consumer price index, so a raise will keep arriving in the autumn. For payroll that means the January paycheck brings no change, and a pay rate set in the spring can fall below the minimum by October. Anyone paid exactly the minimum should check the stub that covers September 30: hours worked on or after that date earn the new rate.
What the minimum wage raise is worth to you
Rate in Florida now
$15.00
| Rate on January 1, 2026 | $14.00 |
| Rate in force now | $15.00 |
| Extra pay a year since January | $1,560 |
| Next change | none announced |
Tips: a fixed credit, a rising cash wage
Most states that allow a tip credit let the employer count a share of tips toward the minimum wage. Florida fixes that share at the amount allowed under federal law in 2003, so each time the minimum wage goes up, the cash wage a server or bartender must receive goes up by the same amount. Since September 30 the cash floor is $11.98 an hour, more than five times the federal $2.13. If cash wage plus tips still falls short of $15.00 for the hours in a workweek, the employer must make up the difference.
Do your tips cover the minimum wage?
Employer top-up owed per hour
$0.00
| Cash wage | $11.98 |
| Cash wage + tips | $15.98 |
| Minimum wage in Florida | $15.00 |
| Top-up over a 30-hour week | $0 |
Statewide rules only
A Florida statute bars cities and counties from requiring private employers to pay a local minimum wage or to provide benefits that state or federal law does not require, which rules out local sick leave ordinances. Living wage rules adopted by local governments reach only their own staff and some contractors. That leaves Florida workers with the federal framework for leave: up to 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave for those who qualify, and whatever paid time off the employer offers. States that do require paid sick leave are mostly in the Northeast and the West.
Overtime, final pay and breaks
With no state overtime statute, time and a half is owed after 40 hours in a workweek under federal law, and the federal salary test of $684 a week applies to exempt jobs. Florida sets no deadline for the last paycheck and no rule on paying out unused vacation, so the employer's regular payday and written policy govern both. Meal breaks are required only for minors. The state does protect the right to work: the Declaration of Rights in the constitution forbids making union membership a condition of employment.
Florida employment rules at a glance, 2026
Minimum wage schedule
| From | Who it covers | Rate | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 30, 2025 | Statewide | $14.00 | In force January 1 to September 29, 2026 |
| September 30, 2026 | Statewide | $15.00 | Final $1 step of Amendment 2 (2020); inflation indexing resumes September 30, 2027 |
Workers covered by both laws get the higher rate. Employer, employee and wage definitions follow the federal FLSA. From September 30, 2027 the rate is adjusted each year for inflation (CPI-W, South Region). Read the Florida rule.
Overtime
Time and a half after 40 hours in a week. The salary test for exempt employees is the federal $684 a week. No general state overtime law for private employers; the federal FLSA (time and a half over 40 hours a week) applies. source
Sick leave and family leave
Florida has no statewide paid sick leave law for private employers; leave depends on the employer's policy or a city ordinance. Local paid sick leave ordinances are preempted (Fla. Stat. 218.077). source
No state paid family leave insurance: the federal FMLA gives eligible workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave.
Final paycheck and unused vacation
Fired or laid off: no Florida statute sets a deadline (federal law sets none either); the employer's regular payday and policy apply. Quitting: no Florida statute sets a deadline; the employer's regular payday and policy apply. Vacation: No state statute; accrued vacation payout depends on the employer's policy or contract..
Meal and rest breaks
No meal break is required for adults by state law. No paid rest break is required for adults. Minors 15 and younger: 30-minute meal period after 4 continuous hours; minors 16-17 working 8+ hours a day: 30-minute meal period after 4 continuous hours. source
Unions and dismissal
Florida is a right-to-work state: a union contract cannot require you to pay dues or fees to keep your job. Employment is at will: either side may end it at any time, except for an illegal reason such as discrimination or retaliation, or against a contract. source
Also worth knowing in Florida
- Florida's minimum wage reached $15.00 on September 30, 2026, the last of the $1 yearly steps voted in 2020 (Amendment 2); from September 30, 2027 it will rise with inflation each year. source
- Cities and counties cannot set their own private-sector minimum wage or mandate benefits such as paid sick leave; local living-wage rules only reach the local government's own workforce and certain contractors. source
- The minimum wage is in the state constitution (Article X, Section 24), and the right to work is in the Declaration of Rights (Article I, Section 6). source