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Florida Sick Leave: What Applies as the Wage Climbs to $15
Florida's statutes do not require a private employer to offer paid sick leave. Its minimum wage is $14.00 an hour today and is scheduled to rise to $15.00 on September 30, 2026 under the state's constitutional amendment schedule, a fixed date few other no-mandate states have on the books. Accrual, carryover and payout on sick time remain entirely a matter of the employer's written policy.
Florida at a glance
| Paid sick leave mandate | None statewide for private employers |
|---|---|
| Governing rule | Your written policy, enforced as written |
| State paid family and medical leave | None. Federal FMLA only, unpaid, at 50+ employees |
| Minimum wage | $14.00 |
| Overtime | Federal FLSA rules (weekly over 40) |
| Coverage below the 20-employee COBRA line | Florida Health Insurance Coverage Continuation Act (mini-COBRA), up to 18 months [Fla. Stat. section 627.6692 (Florida Health Insurance Coverage Continuation Act)] |
A rising wage floor, but no leave benefit to match it
Florida has no paid family and medical leave program to pair with its rising wage floor, so federal FMLA remains the only job-protected leave, and it is unpaid regardless of how long the leave runs. An employer needs 50 or more employees within 75 miles before FMLA applies at all, and an employee needs both 12 months of service and 1,250 hours actually worked in that period. Everything below those numbers in Florida is governed by company policy, not federal statute. See the U.S. Department of Labor's FMLA overview.
An 18-month mini-COBRA, extendable to 29
Eighteen months, stretching to 29 on a Social Security disability finding, is what Florida's mini-COBRA offers under the Florida Health Insurance Coverage Continuation Act at Fla. Stat. section 627.6692. It reaches the small employers federal COBRA skips, those with 2 to 19 employees, and covers eligible employees and dependents through termination other than gross misconduct, reduced hours, divorce, or the covered employee's death. See Fla. Stat. 627.6692.
Georgia's own wage floor is lower and frozen
Florida borders Georgia, which also has no statewide paid sick leave mandate, but Georgia's own $5.15 state rate is superseded by the federal $7.25 and carries no scheduled increase, well below Florida's current $14.00 and its coming $15.00. Georgia also applies its wage protections only to employers of 6 or more, a headcount test Florida does not run. A Florida company expanding into Georgia is trading a rising, statewide wage floor for a frozen, threshold-gated one, on top of a different continuation statute entirely.
Where a Florida employer gets this wrong is assuming the coming wage increase is the only date on the calendar that matters. September 30, 2026 moves the floor to $15.00, but nothing about that constitutional schedule touches sick leave, and a company that updates payroll for the wage change while leaving its leave policy untouched has fixed only half the compliance picture. Fla. Stat. 627.6692's continuation window, 18 months and up to 29 on a disability finding, runs on its own separate clock entirely.
In summary: Florida runs a $14.00 wage floor rising to $15.00 in 2026, up to 29 months of continuation under Fla. Stat. 627.6692, and FMLA's 50-employee, 12-month, 1,250-hour gate underneath both of them.
FMLA, remote-hire exposure and voluntary policy drafting: paid leave fundamentals.
For Florida specifically: nothing above is statutory in Florida, so your written policy is the enforceable rule, the wage floor those hours are paid at is $14.00, and below the federal 20-employee COBRA threshold Florida still requires continuation coverage for up to 18 months. HR outsourcing in Florida keeps that in the handbook and in payroll.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does Florida require paid sick leave?
No. Florida has no statewide requirement for private employers, so whatever your handbook says is the enforceable rule, including on carryover and payout. Hours you do pay are paid at $14.00.
What pay rate applies to leave hours in Florida?
Minimum wage in Florida is $14.00. Overtime: Federal FLSA rules (weekly over 40). Paid leave hours generally do not count toward the overtime threshold because they are not hours worked.
Does health coverage continue after separation in Florida?
Federal COBRA applies at 20 or more employees. Below that, Florida has its own continuation law, the Florida Health Insurance Coverage Continuation Act (mini-COBRA), running up to 18 months (Fla. Stat. section 627.6692 (Florida Health Insurance Coverage Continuation Act)).
Does Florida run a paid family and medical leave programme?
No. Federal FMLA is the only family and medical leave floor in Florida: 12 workweeks, unpaid, at employers with 50 or more employees.
Does Florida’s 29-month continuation extension happen automatically?
No. A Social Security disability determination has to be filed and approved separately; the base 18 months under Fla. Stat. 627.6692 does not extend on its own.
Does Florida’s mini-COBRA cover dental and vision the same way as medical?
The Florida Health Insurance Coverage Continuation Act at Fla. Stat. 627.6692 is built around small-employer group health plans specifically; dental and vision continuation should be confirmed separately with the carrier.
How many employees can a Florida employer have and still fall under the mini-COBRA law?
Between 2 and 19. At 20 or more, federal COBRA takes over and Fla. Stat. 627.6692 no longer applies to that employer.
Does Florida operate its own ACA marketplace?
No. Florida enrollment runs through the federal HealthCare.gov platform; the state has not built a state-based exchange of its own.
Does a reduction in hours trigger Florida’s continuation right the same way a termination does?
Yes. Fla. Stat. 627.6692 lists reduction in hours alongside termination other than gross misconduct, divorce, and death as qualifying events that open the 18-month window.
Does divorce from the covered employee open Florida’s continuation window for a spouse?
Yes. Fla. Stat. 627.6692 lists divorce as its own qualifying event alongside termination, reduced hours, and death, each independently opening the 18-month right.
Is this a PEO?
No. No co-employment and no employer-of-record change: your company stays the employer. HR outsourcing, powered by isolved.
Anthony leads HR outsourcing strategy at Business Executive Group, a national HR outsourcing firm serving employers across every state. BEG HR outsourcing is powered by isolved, with certified HR professionals building and maintaining state-correct leave policy as laws change.
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