Issues Newsletter

Your 2019 Florida Minimum Wage Poster Enclosed With Mailed Copy of Newsletter

The Florida minimum wage will increase 21¢ in calendar year 2019.  Starting January 1, 2019, the minimum wage Florida employers must pay their employees will increase from $8.25 an hour to $8.46 an hour.

For tipped employees (like food servers), employers can count the tips these employees receive towards the required minimum hourly wage.  However, employers are required by law to pay tipped employees a direct cash wage.  For 2019, this cash wage for tipped employees is also increasing, from $5.23 an hour to $5.44 an hour.

With this change to the Florida minimum wage, all Florida employers will be required to display a new minimum wage poster for 2019.  One of the benefits of your FUBA membership is that we provide you with all updated employment posters free of charge.  All businesses have to post these posters at their workplace.  As long as you maintain your FUBA membership, you will receive all required employment postings free of charge from us.

On January 1st, simply post this notice at your workplace to be in compliance with this requirement.

If you have any questions about the minimum wage and how it affects your business, please call the FUBA offices at 800-262-4483 and ask for Karen, Lance or Mallory.

You can print additional copies of the 2019 Florida minimum wage poster by clicking here.

Or, FUBA members can order additional hard copies of the new minimum wage poster from us.  Please email us at fuba@fuba.org and include your name, your company name, and mailing address in your email.  Additional copies are free of charge for FUBA members.

Florida Workers’ Comp Rates Will Decrease in 2019

The rates Florida businesses pay for workers’ compensation insurance coverage will decrease in 2019 an average of -13.8%.

The -13.8% rate decrease is an average rate change over the hundreds of different industry classifications.  The specific rates for the individual class codes on your company’s workers’ comp policy may decrease more or less than this amount.  The rates may even go up for some businesses.

Your company’s workers’ comp premium is determined by multiplying the total payroll for your business by the rate for the classification(s) assigned to your business.  The new rates will be applied to your workers’ compensation policy as it comes up for renewal in 2019.

For example, here is a sample of the rate decreases for some of the class codes written through FUBA Workers’ Comp:

If you have any questions about the new rates and how they apply to your workers’ compensation policy, you should contact your local insurance agent.

Do You Need Workers’ Comp Coverage that is “A” Rated?

FUBA is proud to endorse Lancer Indemnity Company as the provider of workers’ compensation insurance to our association members.  Lancer Indemnity Company is rated A- “Excellent” by A.M. Best.

Some of the features of FUBA’s insurance program with Lancer are:

• Convenient pay plans:  monthly installments, pay-as-you-go, and monthly self-reporting.
• AutoPay for your monthly premium installments, which allows you to set up automatic premium payment deductions from the bank account you choose.
• Bilingual staff to assist policyholders.
• Waiver of Subrogation endorsements issued at policy binding and included in your down payment.
• Friendly receptionists who answer the phone.  Our staff is trained to direct you to the right person in our office to help you, so that you don’t have to navigate a confusing automated menu and leave a message.

If your business needs workers’ comp insurance and you are interested in FUBA’s program, please contact your local insurance agent.

Contractors: Do You Use the Construction Database to Track Your Subcontractors?

In Florida, everyone working on a construction job site is required either to be covered by a workers’ compensation insurance policy or to have a valid workers’ compensation exemption issued by the state Division of Workers’ Compensation.

If your company is in the construction industry and you use a subcontractor whose workers’ comp insurance is cancelled, you will be charged workers’ comp premium by your insurance company for the amount you paid the subcontractor after the policy cancellation date.

It’s the same situation if you hire a subcontractor who works under an exemption from workers’ comp.  If the sub’s exemption expires or is revoked, you will be charged premium on the amount you paid the sub when the exemption was not valid.  Also, if that sub is hurt on your job, he/she can also file for workers’ comp benefits against your insurance company.

One way to protect yourself is to use the State of Florida’s Construction Policy Tracking Database, a free service offered by the Division of Workers’ Compensation that notifies you if your subcontractors’ insurance coverage or exemptions expire or are cancelled.

The database will track your subs’ policies and/or exemptions and alert you by email if their coverage is cancelled or if their exemption expires.  The link to database is: myfloridacfo.com/WCAPPS/Contractor/logon.asp.