Overtime in Florida
Daily overtime
Florida has no daily overtime rule. Only California, Alaska, Nevada and Colorado count overtime by the day. In Florida a fourteen-hour shift inside a thirty-eight hour week produces no overtime.
Weekly overtime
Florida has no state overtime statute. Overtime comes entirely from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act: one and a half times the regular rate for hours over forty in a workweek. A Florida overtime complaint is therefore a federal complaint.
The seventh consecutive day
Florida has no seventh-day premium and no day-of-rest requirement for adult private-sector employees.
How often you must be paid
Florida sets no minimum pay frequency for private-sector employers. There is no statute requiring weekly, biweekly, semimonthly or monthly pay, and an employer may choose its own schedule. The one statute that touches the subject, section 532.01, governs the instrument wages are paid with — it must be negotiable and payable in cash on demand, and the employer must hold sufficient funds for at least thirty days — not how often it is issued.
When your last paycheck is due
This is the question people search for most, and in several states the answer depends on whether you left or were let go. In Florida:
- If you were fired or laid off: No state deadline — the next regular payday under federal law.
- If you quit: No state deadline — the next regular payday under federal law.
Florida has no final-paycheck statute. There is no state deadline for a last cheque whether you quit or were fired, and no state waiting-time penalty. What remains is the federal baseline: wages must be paid on the regular payday for the pay period they were earned in. If the employer misses that, the claim is for unpaid wages rather than for lateness.
Meal and rest breaks
Florida requires no meal period for employees aged eighteen and over. Employees under eighteen are covered: a minor may not work more than four continuous hours without an interval of at least thirty minutes for a meal.
No rest breaks are required for adults. Federal rules govern whether a break is paid — under twenty minutes is paid working time, and a meal period of thirty minutes or more may be unpaid only if you are completely relieved of duty.
The Florida minimum wage
Florida’s minimum wage is in its constitution, not just its statutes, and it rises on 30 September rather than 1 January. The rate is $14.00 an hour from 30 September 2025 and steps up to $15.00 an hour on 30 September 2026, the last increase in the schedule voters approved in 2020. From 2027 it is adjusted annually for inflation. Check the date before you check the number: Florida is the one state on this site where the rate changes in the autumn.
Figure checked 26 July 2026, effective 30 September 2025. Minimum wages move on a schedule and local ordinances move on their own — if you are reading this well after that date, check the agency link below before relying on the number.
If you have not been paid
Florida has no equivalent of a state labour commissioner taking general wage claims. For unpaid minimum wage under the state constitution, you must first give the employer written notice identifying the dates and amount; the employer then has fifteen calendar days to pay or resolve it, after which you may bring a civil action for the back wages, an equal amount in liquidated damages, and attorney’s fees. The Attorney General may also bring an action, with a fine of $1,000 per wilful violation. For unpaid overtime, the route is the US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division or a federal FLSA suit.
Deadline: Two years for a federal overtime claim, three if the violation was wilful. For a Florida minimum-wage claim the limitations period is tolled during the 15-day notice period.
No state wage-claim agency — federal or the courts
What this page does not cover
- Whether the rules apply to you at all. Overtime and break rules apply to non-exempt employees. If you are genuinely exempt, or an independent contractor, most of this page is not about you — and misclassification is common enough that being called exempt is not the same as being exempt.
- Local ordinances. Cities and counties set their own minimum wages, paid sick leave and, in some places, scheduling rules. Only the state-level position is described here.
- Industry-specific rules. Agriculture, transport, health care, public employment and several other sectors carry their own wage orders and exemptions that override the general position.
- Your contract or union agreement, which can promise more than the law requires — never less.
- This is not legal advice. It is a cited summary of published law, written to be checked. The agency above answers questions for free.
Common questions
Does Florida have daily overtime?
No. Florida has no state overtime law at all. Overtime comes from the federal rule of over forty hours in a workweek, and a single long day is not overtime by itself.
When is my final paycheck due in Florida?
Florida sets no deadline. There is no state final-paycheck statute and no waiting-time penalty, so the federal baseline applies: your wages are due on the regular payday for the period in which you earned them.
Does my employer have to give me a lunch break in Florida?
Not if you are eighteen or over — Florida requires no meal or rest breaks for adults. Employees under eighteen must get at least thirty minutes after no more than four continuous hours.
What is the minimum wage in Florida right now?
Fourteen dollars an hour, effective 30 September 2025, rising to fifteen dollars on 30 September 2026. Florida’s minimum wage changes on 30 September each year rather than on 1 January.
Who do I complain to about unpaid wages in Florida?
There is no state wage-claim agency. For unpaid minimum wage you must give your employer written notice and fifteen days to resolve it before suing. For unpaid overtime, complain to the US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division or bring a federal claim.