Florida Senate - 2014                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for SB 926
       
       
       
       
       
       
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                              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.