WORK LIMITATIONS FOR TEENS DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR

If your business has employees under the age of 18 who will keep working for you during the school year, you need to know the rules on how much they can work once school starts. 

Work restrictions for 14 and 15-year-olds during the school year:

  • Not allowed to work during school hours.
  • Not allowed to work before 7 am or after 7 pm.
  • Can work up to 3 hours a day on school days.
  • Can work up to 8 hours a day (until 7 pm) on Saturdays, Sundays, and non-school days when there is no school the next day.
  • Can work up to 15 hours a week.

Work restrictions for 16 and 17-year-olds during the school year:

  • Not allowed to work during school hours unless they are enrolled in a school-to-work experience program, career education, or other program, or they have received a waiver.
  • Not allowed to work before 6:30 am or after 11:00 pm when school is scheduled the following day.
  • Can work up to 8 hours a day when school is scheduled for the following day.
  • On non-school days when there is no school the next day, there are no restrictions on how many hours they can work.
  • Can work up to 30 hours a week.

Year-round requirements for all employees under the age of 18:

  • They must be given a 30-minute break after working 4 consecutive hours. The break can be unpaid.
  • They cannot work more than 6 days in a row.
  • They must be paid at least the Florida minimum wage. The current Florida minimum wage is $11.00 per hour, with a minimum cash wage for tipped employees of $7.98 per hour. Note:  The Florida minimum wage will increase to $12.00 an hour on 9/30/23.
  • Businesses with employees under 18 must post a Child Labor poster at their workplace and keep a copy of the employee’s driver’s license or birth certificate as proof of their age.
  • Certain jobs are prohibited year-round for employees under 18. Please refer to the Child Labor poster for more details.

FUBA members can request a free child labor poster by calling our offices at 800-262-4483 or by emailing us at fuba@fuba.org.

HURRICANE SUPPLIES ARE TAX-FREE AUGUST 26 – SEPTEMBER 8

Disaster supplies, supplies for evacuating with pets, and certain household items will be tax-free for two weeks starting August 26th. If your business sells any of these items, you must temporarily stop collecting the state sales tax on these items from August 26th through September 8th and report these sales as tax-free on your next sales tax filing.

For more information or to see the complete list of tax-free hurricane supplies, please visit the Florida Department of Revenue’s website.

ARE YOU A REGISTERED CONTRACTOR? RENEW YOUR STATE REGISTRATION BY AUGUST 31ST

There are two types of contractor licenses in the State of Florida:  certified and registered. 

Certified contractors have passed the Florida contractor’s exam and have a license issued by the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation (DBPR) that lets them work anywhere in the state. If you have a state-certified contractor’s license, this article does not apply to you, and you can stop reading. Your license expires in August of even-numbered years.

Registered contractors have a local contractor’s license issued by a city or county in Florida (not the state of Florida) and have registered their license with the state. Locally licensed contractors may work only in the cities or counties where they hold a license and in any adjoining locale that will accept their registration. Locally licensed contractors are not allowed to work statewide. 

If you have a license issued by a city or county in one of the following categories, you are required by law to register your local license with the state: 

  • General contractor
  • Building contractor
  • Residential contractor
  • Sheet metal
  • Roofing
  • Air-conditioning
  • Mechanical
  • Swimming pool/spa
  • Plumbing
  • Underground utility and excavation
  • Solar
  • Pollutant storage
  • Glass and glazing

The state registration of your local license must be renewed every two years in August of odd-numbered years. There is a 50% renewal fee holiday during this renewal period. To renew your registered contractor’s license, please go to myfloridalicense.com and click on Apply or Manage My License. 

Please note:  If your contractor’s license was issued by a city or county and is not in one of the bullets listed above, you do not have to register your license with the state and this article does not apply to you. Examples of construction work that can be done without a state-registered license include:

  • Cabinets
  • Countertops
  • Wallpaper
  • Carpet
  • Tile/flooring
  • Painting

While your city or county may require you to get a license from them to do the type of work above, you are not required to register the above types of local licenses with the state.