Employee Handbook

EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK

State of Florida

[COMPANY LEGAL NAME]

Effective Date: [MM/DD/YYYY]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Handbook Status and Administration
2. Equal Employment and Accommodation
3. Wage, Hour, Payday, and Break Policies
4. Family, Medical, Jury, and Company Leave
5. Safety, Workers' Compensation, and Workplace Security
6. Records, Employment Eligibility, and Protected Activity
7. Conduct, Attendance, and Corrective Action
8. Separation of Employment
9. Administration and Acknowledgment

1. HANDBOOK STATUS AND ADMINISTRATION

1.1 Purpose and Scope

This Handbook states the general policies of [Company Legal Name] (the “Company”) for Employees working in Florida. It must be completed for the Company's workforce, locations, industry, benefits, local ordinances, and any collective bargaining agreement before distribution.

1.2 Not a Contract; Employment Relationship

This Handbook is not an employment contract, a promise of employment for a fixed term, or a guarantee that any particular corrective-action step will be used. Unless a signed agreement, collective bargaining agreement, or applicable law provides otherwise, either the Employee or the Company may end employment at any time. Only [AUTHORIZED TITLE] may sign an agreement changing that relationship.

1.3 Reporting Channels and Anti-Retaliation

An Employee may report a concern orally or in writing to [SUPERVISOR], [HR CONTACT], or [ALTERNATE/ETHICS CONTACT], and may bypass anyone involved in the concern. The Company will respond promptly and impartially and prohibits retaliation for good-faith reports, accommodation requests, wage complaints, protected leave, jury service, safety reports, workers' compensation activity, participation in an investigation, or other legally protected conduct.

1.4 Definitions and Coverage Review

“Employee” means an individual employed by the Company, whether full-time, part-time, temporary, or seasonal.

“Workweek” means the seven-day period beginning at [DAY/TIME] and ending at [DAY/TIME] for payroll and overtime purposes.

Complete before issue:

• Fifteen or more Employees in twenty or more weeks for Florida Civil Rights Act coverage: ☐ Yes ☐ No
• Fifty or more Employees and domestic-/sexual-violence leave coverage: ☐ Yes ☐ No
• Twenty-five or more Employees and Florida E-Verify coverage: ☐ Yes ☐ No
• Industry/coverage: ☐ Construction ☐ Nonconstruction ☐ Agriculture ☐ Other: [____]
• Workers' compensation threshold met or coverage otherwise elected: ☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Review required
• Federal FMLA-covered employer and eligible worksites: ☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Review required
• Local employment ordinance or leave rule applies: ☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Review required
• Collective bargaining agreement applies: ☐ Yes ☐ No

2. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT AND ACCOMMODATION

2.1 Equal Employment Opportunity

The Company prohibits unlawful discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap or disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, military or veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law. Employment decisions will be based on lawful job-related considerations.

The Florida Civil Rights Act generally applies to an employer with fifteen or more Employees for each working day in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year. The Company will comply with any federal or local rule that applies at a different threshold.

2.2 Complaint Procedure

Employees should report discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or an accommodation need to [HR CONTACT] or [ALTERNATE CONTACT]. Reports will be addressed promptly and as confidentially as reasonably possible. Employees may contact a government agency or pursue another protected remedy without first exhausting this internal process.

2.3 Disability, Religion, Pregnancy, and Lactation

The Company will engage in an appropriate interactive process and provide reasonable accommodation when required by disability, religious-accommodation, pregnancy, childbirth, and related-condition laws. The Company will provide covered nursing Employees reasonable break time and a private place other than a bathroom to express breast milk as required by federal law.

3. WAGE, HOUR, PAYDAY, AND BREAK POLICIES

3.1 Classification and Minimum Wage

Human Resources will classify workers based on actual duties and the working relationship, not labels alone. Salaried status by itself does not establish an exemption.

Employees covered by Florida's minimum-wage law will receive at least $14.00 per hour through September 29, 2026, and at least $15.00 per hour beginning September 30, 2026, subject to lawful exemptions and any higher applicable rate. Through September 29, 2026, the minimum direct cash wage for a tipped Employee for whom the Company lawfully takes the full $3.02 tip credit is $10.98 per hour. Human Resources must update the rate and required poster when the applicable minimum changes.

3.2 Timekeeping and Overtime

Non-exempt Employees must accurately record all time worked, including authorized or unauthorized work before or after a shift, remote work, compensable travel, training, interrupted meals, and work communications. Working off the clock is prohibited, but all time actually worked must be recorded and paid.

Covered non-exempt Employees will receive one and one-half times the regular rate for hours worked over forty in a Workweek when required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. Overtime should be approved in advance, but lack of approval does not permit unpaid work.

3.3 Paydays, Statements, and Deductions

The regular pay period is [____], and payday is [____]. The Company will follow the announced schedule and any governing agreement. Employees must promptly review each wage statement and report a suspected error to [PAYROLL CONTACT].

The Company will make deductions required by law and voluntary deductions that the Employee has properly authorized. It will not make a deduction that unlawfully reduces pay below the applicable minimum wage or overtime due.

3.4 Meal and Rest Periods

The Company policy for adult Employees is:

• Meal period: [____ minutes after ____ hours / not offered]
• Rest periods: [____ minutes and frequency / not offered]
• Timekeeping method: [automatic deduction / clock out and in / other]

An unpaid meal period requires the Employee to be completely relieved of duties. Any work during a meal period must be reported and paid. Short rest periods offered by the Company will be treated as paid work time when federal law requires. Human Resources must separately review scheduling and break rules before employing a minor.

3.5 Vacation, Sick Time, and General PTO

Florida vacation, sick-time, and general PTO benefits are governed by the written Company policy selected below, subject to any applicable local rule, agreement, or benefit plan:

• Accrual method: [____]
• Carryover or cap: [____]
• Permitted sick/safe uses: [____]
• Separation payout rule: [____]
• Scheduling and approval rules: [____]

4. FAMILY, MEDICAL, JURY, AND COMPANY LEAVE

4.1 Federal Family and Medical Leave

The FMLA applies to private employers with fifty or more Employees in at least twenty workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year and to covered public employers. An Employee generally must have twelve months of service, 1,250 hours worked in the prior twelve months, and fifty Employees within seventy-five miles of the worksite.

Eligible Employees may receive up to twelve workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for qualifying family, medical, and military-exigency reasons and up to twenty-six workweeks in a single twelve-month period for qualifying military-caregiver leave. A separate FMLA policy and required notices control administration.

4.2 Domestic- and Sexual-Violence Leave

If the Company employs fifty or more Employees, an Employee who has worked for the Company for at least three months may request up to three working days of leave in a twelve-month period when the Employee or a family or household member is a victim of domestic violence or sexual violence. Qualifying purposes include seeking an injunction; obtaining medical care, mental-health counseling, victim services, legal assistance, or safer housing; securing a home; and preparing for or attending related court proceedings.

This leave is [PAID / UNPAID]. Unless the Company waives the requirement, the Employee must exhaust available annual or vacation leave, personal leave, and sick leave before receiving statutory leave. Except in imminent-danger situations, the Employee must provide the advance notice required by Company policy and sufficient supporting documentation. The Company will keep covered leave information confidential and will not interfere with or retaliate for a protected request or use.

4.3 Jury Service

An Employee summoned for jury service must notify [CONTACT] promptly and provide the summons. Company pay status is [UNPAID / PAID BY COMPANY POLICY]. Florida's juror allowance is not Company pay; the state compensation rules depend on whether the juror is regularly employed, receives regular wages, and the length of service.

The Company will not dismiss or threaten dismissal because of the nature or length of an Employee's service on a Florida grand or petit jury.

4.4 Military and Other Protected Leave

The Company will provide military leave, nondiscrimination, and reemployment rights required by USERRA and other applicable law. Human Resources will also evaluate requests for accommodation, workers' compensation absence, domestic- or sexual-violence leave, FMLA, jury service, and other protected leave rather than treating the absence as ordinary attendance misconduct.

4.5 Voting and Company Leave

The Company voting-leave policy is [paid/unpaid; eligibility; amount; advance notice]. This policy does not reduce a right provided by an applicable local law or collective bargaining agreement.

5. SAFETY, WORKERS' COMPENSATION, AND WORKPLACE SECURITY

5.1 Workplace Safety

Employees must follow safety rules, use required protective equipment, and promptly report hazards, injuries, and illnesses to [CONTACT]. The Company prohibits retaliation for a good-faith safety or injury report.

5.2 Workers' Compensation

The Company will secure Florida workers' compensation coverage when required. Coverage is generally required for a construction employer with one or more Employees; a nonconstruction employer with four or more Employees; and an agricultural employer with six regular Employees or twelve seasonal workers who meet the statutory duration rules. Ownership, entity, exemption, contractor, and out-of-state-employer rules require individualized review.

Employees should report a work-related injury or illness promptly to [CONTACT] so the Company can meet insurance, notice, recordkeeping, and reporting duties.

5.3 Drug-Free Workplace Program

The Company policy is [NO TESTING / SEPARATE TESTING POLICY ATTACHED]. Florida's statutory drug-free-workplace program is optional, but an employer seeking the associated workers' compensation premium credit must use a separately reviewed program that satisfies current notice, policy, testing, laboratory, medical-review, confidentiality, challenge, and employee-protection requirements. This Handbook alone does not establish such a program or authorize testing.

5.4 Violence Prevention, Weapons, and Private Vehicles

Threats, violence, and unauthorized weapons are prohibited in Company buildings, work areas, and Company-owned or leased vehicles to the extent permitted by law. The Company will not search a private vehicle or prohibit, inquire about, or discriminate based on a legally owned firearm kept locked in or locked to a private vehicle in a Company parking lot when Fla. Stat. § 790.251 applies.

That statute contains defined-Employee requirements and exceptions for specified properties and operations, including schools, correctional institutions, nuclear facilities, certain national-defense or aerospace property, certain explosive-material operations, employer-owned or leased vehicles, and places where another law or federal contract prohibits possession. Human Resources must review the statute before acting on a report involving a private vehicle.

6. RECORDS, EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY, AND PROTECTED ACTIVITY

6.1 Employment Eligibility Verification

The Company will complete and retain federal Form I-9 for each covered hire and will allow the Employee to choose from the legally acceptable documents. If the Company has twenty-five or more Employees, it will use E-Verify for each new Employee as required by Fla. Stat. § 448.095, maintain the required verification records for at least three years, and complete the annual compliance certification. If E-Verify is unavailable for the statutory period, Human Resources will follow the Form I-9 and documentation procedure specified by the statute.

6.2 Confidentiality and Lawful Disclosures

Employees must protect legitimate confidential and trade-secret information learned through work. This policy does not prohibit an Employee from reporting suspected unlawful conduct to a government agency or attorney, cooperating in an investigation, discussing wages or working conditions where protected, or engaging in other legally protected activity.

6.3 Personnel and Medical Records

The Company will maintain payroll, leave, accommodation, medical, testing, and personnel records with access limited to legitimate business and legal needs. Protected medical, domestic- or sexual-violence leave, and drug-testing information will be stored separately or treated confidentially when required.

7. CONDUCT, ATTENDANCE, AND CORRECTIVE ACTION

7.1 Expected Conduct

Employees must perform assigned duties safely and honestly; comply with lawful policies; accurately record time and business records; protect Company, customer, and coworker property; avoid unlawful harassment, threats, or violence; and disclose actual conflicts of interest to [HR/COMPLIANCE].

7.2 Attendance and Call-In

Employees unable to report as scheduled must notify [CONTACT] by [METHOD] at least [____] before the shift when practicable. This policy will be administered consistently with accommodation, FMLA, domestic- or sexual-violence leave, jury, military, workers' compensation, and other protected-absence laws.

7.3 Corrective Action

The Company may use coaching, verbal warning, written warning, final warning, suspension, or termination. It may select or skip steps based on the circumstances. This policy does not create a contract or authorize action for a protected reason.

8. SEPARATION OF EMPLOYMENT

8.1 Notice and Return of Property

Employees are requested, but not required by this Handbook, to provide [____] days' resignation notice. At separation, Employees must return Company property and records. The Company will not withhold earned wages as leverage for a disputed debt or unreturned property outside a deduction permitted by law.

8.2 Final Pay and Benefits

Earned wages will be paid on [the next regular payday / earlier Company-selected date]. Vacation, commissions, bonuses, expenses, severance, and benefits will be handled under the governing written policy, plan, agreement, and applicable law. Complete the separation payout rule in Section 3.5 before issue.

9. ADMINISTRATION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT

9.1 Policy Administration

The Company may prospectively revise policies in writing, subject to applicable law, earned wages and leave, contracts, and collective bargaining agreements. If a policy conflicts with controlling law, the law controls and the policy will be administered as closely as possible to its lawful purpose.

9.2 No Mandatory Internal Exhaustion

Employees are encouraged to use internal reporting channels, but nothing in this Handbook requires an Employee to waive or delay a right to contact a government agency, file a charge, report a crime, seek emergency assistance, consult counsel, discuss wages or working conditions where protected, or pursue another protected remedy.

9.3 Separate Agreements

Any arbitration, restrictive-covenant, invention-assignment, confidentiality, commission, bonus, or employment agreement must be separately drafted and reviewed for current Florida and federal law. This Handbook itself does not impose arbitration, a jury waiver, employee indemnity, a damages cap, attorney-fee shifting, an exclusive court forum, or a force-majeure excuse from wage or leave obligations.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF RECEIPT

I, [EMPLOYEE NAME], acknowledge that I received the [Company Legal Name] Employee Handbook effective [MM/DD/YYYY] and understand that I am expected to follow its lawful policies. I understand that this acknowledgment and the Handbook are not employment contracts and do not promise employment for a fixed term.

Sources and References

• Florida Department of Commerce — 2025 Minimum Wage Announcement
• Florida Statutes — § 448.109, Minimum-Wage Notice
• Florida Statutes — § 448.110, Florida Minimum Wage Act
• Florida Statutes — § 760.02, Definitions
• Florida Statutes — § 760.10, Unlawful Employment Practices
• Florida Statutes — § 741.313, Domestic- and Sexual-Violence Leave
• Florida Statutes — § 40.24, Juror Compensation
• Florida Statutes — § 40.271, Jury-Service Employment Protection
• Florida Statutes — § 448.095, Employment Eligibility
• Florida Statutes — § 440.102, Drug-Free Workplace Program
• Florida Statutes — § 627.0915, Drug-Free Workplace Rating Plans
• Florida Statutes — § 790.251, Firearms in Private Vehicles
• Florida Division of Workers' Compensation — Coverage Requirements
• U.S. Department of Labor — FLSA Hours Worked
• U.S. Department of Labor — FLSA Overtime
• U.S. Department of Labor — FMLA Frequently Asked Questions
• U.S. Department of Labor — Pump at Work
• U.S. Department of Labor — USERRA Rights
• USCIS — Completing Form I-9
• USCIS — Form I-9 Acceptable Documents