Florida Senate - 2014 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 926
Ì1826189Î182618
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
04/03/2014 .
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1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 34.01, Florida
6 Statutes, is amended to read:
7 34.01 Jurisdiction of county court.—
8 (1) County courts shall have original jurisdiction:
9 (a) In all misdemeanor cases not cognizable by the circuit
10 courts;
11 (b) Of all violations of municipal and county ordinances;
12 (c) Of all actions at law in which the matter in
13 controversy does not exceed the sum of $15,000, exclusive of
14 interest, costs, and attorney’s fees, except those within the
15 exclusive jurisdiction of the circuit courts; and
16 (d) Of disputes occurring in the homeowners’ associations
17 as described in s. 720.311(2)(a), which shall be concurrent with
18 jurisdiction of the circuit courts; and.
19 (e) Of actions for the collection of compensation under s.
20 448.115, notwithstanding the amount in controversy prescribed in
21 paragraph (c).
22 Section 2. Section 448.115, Florida Statutes, is created to
23 read:
24 448.115 Civil action for wage theft; notice; civil penalty;
25 preemption.—
26 (1)(a) As used in this section, the term “wage theft” means
27 an illegal or improper underpayment or nonpayment of an
28 individual employee’s wage, salary, commission, or other similar
29 form of compensation within a reasonable time from the date on
30 which the employee performed the work to be compensated.
31 (b) A wage theft occurs when an employer fails to pay a
32 portion of wages, salary, commissions, or other similar form of
33 compensation due to an employee within a reasonable time from
34 the date on which the employee performed the work, according to
35 the already applicable rate and the pay schedule of the employer
36 established by policy or practice. In the absence of an
37 established pay schedule, a reasonable time from the date on
38 which the employee performed the work is 2 weeks.
39 (2)(a) If an employer commits wage theft, an aggrieved
40 employee may initiate a civil action pursuant to this section.
41 (b) County courts have original and exclusive jurisdiction
42 in all actions involving wage theft, as provided in s.
43 34.01(1)(e). Notwithstanding s. 34.041, the filing fee for a
44 claim brought pursuant to this section may not exceed $50.
45 (c) The action shall:
46 1. Be brought in the county court in the county where the
47 employee performed the work; and
48 2. Be governed by the Florida Small Claims Rules.
49 (3)(a) Before bringing an action, the claimant must notify,
50 orally or in writing, the employer who is alleged to have
51 engaged in wage theft of his or her intent to initiate a civil
52 action.
53 (b) The notice must identify the amount that the claimant
54 alleges is owed, the actual or estimated work dates and hours
55 for which compensation is sought, and the total amount of
56 compensation unpaid through the date of the notice.
57 (c) The employer has 7 days after the date of service of
58 the notice to pay the total amount of unpaid compensation or
59 otherwise resolve the action to the satisfaction of the
60 claimant.
61 (4) The action must be filed within 1 year after the last
62 date that the alleged unpaid work was performed by the employee.
63 (5) The claimant must prove wage theft by a preponderance
64 of the evidence. A prevailing claimant is entitled to damages
65 limited to twice the amount of compensation due and owing. The
66 court may only award economic damages expressly authorized in
67 this subsection and may not award noneconomic or punitive
68 damages or attorney fees to a prevailing party, notwithstanding
69 s. 448.08.
70 (6)(a) A county, municipality, or political subdivision may
71 establish an administrative, nonjudicial process under which an
72 assertion of unpaid compensation may be submitted by, or on
73 behalf of, an employee in order to assist in the collection of
74 compensation owed to the employee. At a minimum, any such
75 process shall afford the parties involved an opportunity to
76 negotiate a resolution regarding the compensation in question.
77 The county, municipality, or political subdivision may, as part
78 of the process, assist the employee in completing an application
79 for a determination of civil indigent status under s. 57.082 and
80 may pay the filing fee under s. 34.041 on behalf of the
81 employee, if applicable. The process may not adjudicate a
82 compensation dispute between an employee and an employer nor
83 award damages to the employee.
84 (b) Any local regulation of wage theft enacted on or after
85 January 1, 2014, by a county, municipality, or other political
86 subdivision that exceeds the provisions of this section is
87 preempted to the state. A county, municipality, or other
88 political subdivision that has enacted a local ordinance or
89 resolution regulating wage theft before January 1, 2014, may
90 amend, revise, or repeal its ordinance or resolution on or after
91 January 1, 2014.
92 (c) Any other regulation, ordinance, or provision for the
93 recovery of unpaid compensation by a county, municipality, or
94 political subdivision is expressly prohibited and is preempted
95 to the state.
96 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
97
98 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
99 And the title is amended as follows:
100 Delete everything before the enacting clause
101 and insert:
102 A bill to be entitled
103 An act relating to wage theft; amending s. 34.01,
104 F.S.; expanding the original jurisdiction of county
105 courts; creating s. 448.115, F.S.; defining the term
106 “wage theft”; describing the occurrence of a wage
107 theft; authorizing an aggrieved employee to initiate a
108 civil action for wage theft; granting county courts
109 original and exclusive jurisdiction over actions
110 involving wage theft; specifying requirements to bring
111 a civil action for wage theft; authorizing a county,
112 municipality, or political subdivision to establish an
113 administrative process to assist in the collection of
114 compensation owed to an employee; preempting
115 regulation of wage theft to the state after a
116 specified date; exempting certain counties,
117 municipalities, and political subdivisions; providing
118 an effective date.