What is Florida's minimum wage right now?

Florida's minimum wage is $14.00 an hour starting September 30, 2025. It rises to $15.00 an hour on September 30, 2026 (Fla. Const. Art. X, s. 24; Fla. Stat. 448.110).

What if I'm paid in tips?

If you are a tipped employee, your employer can pay a cash wage of $10.98 an hour, as long as your tips bring you up to at least the full minimum wage. Tips belong to you. Managers and owners may not keep any part of a tip pool (29 U.S.C. 203(m)(2)(B)).

What about overtime?

Florida does not have its own overtime law. Federal law (the FLSA) requires 1.5 times your regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a week, for non-exempt employees (29 U.S.C. 207).

If you already got paid straight time for those extra hours, the employer still owes you the extra half-time — not the full 1.5×.
If your hours cross September 30, 2026, use $14.00 before that date and $15.00 after.

If you were not paid the minimum wage

Employers must pay for all hours worked — including work before clocking in, after clocking out, or during interrupted breaks. This applies no matter your immigration status, and no matter if you were paid in cash.

Before you can sue under Florida's minimum wage law, you must send the employer a written notice. It must list the dates, hours, and the total amount you say you are owed. The employer then has 15 days to pay before you can file suit (Fla. Stat. 448.110(6)(a)). The same letter also works as a general demand for overtime and unpaid wages, and sending it does not stop you from also filing with the federal Wage and Hour Division.

How far back can you claim?

Federal (FLSA) overtime and minimum-wage claims reach back two years, or three years if the underpayment was willful.
Florida minimum-wage claims reach back four years, or five years if willful.

Every week that passes can drop off the back of this window, so act soon.

Where to file

U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division — free, confidential, any immigration status, any language: 1-866-487-9243.
Some counties, for example Miami-Dade, have a wage theft ordinance — search your county's name plus "wage theft."
Small-claims or county court.
Free legal aid: floridalawhelp.org.
A worker center or union.

What to do next

Write down every day and the hours you worked, from memory, right now. Keep photos of schedules and time sheets. Save texts and pay stubs. Note any witnesses. Never sign anything that says you were paid in full without reading it first.

The free tool reads your own numbers — the hours, the pay, the dates — and shows you the arithmetic, the rule it breaks, and where to file. In the full version, it prepares the written notice Florida law requires, ready for certified mail.

This is not legal or tax advice, and it can be wrong. It does not decide whether you are an employee, exempt, or owed money — the Wage and Hour Division, a court, or a lawyer decides that. Confirm anything important with free legal aid or the Wage and Hour Division.

The full version — $9

Notice and demand letter · One claim: full estimate plus the written notice and demand letter

Use the free tool

Wage Theft Letter explains pay rules in plain language and estimates from the numbers you enter; it can be wrong, and it is not legal advice. It does not decide whether you are an employee, exempt, or owed anything — the Wage and Hour Division, a court, or a lawyer does. Wage rights do not depend on immigration status. Free help: dol.gov/agencies/whd · floridalawhelp.org. Nothing you type is stored.