New hiring laws in Florida for 2027: the $15 minimum wage, background screening changes and what stays the same

As of October 2026, Florida's 2026 legislative session made only narrow changes to how employers hire, and the largest change for most employers is pay: the state minimum wage reached $15.00 an hour on September 30, 2026 and stays there through December 31, 2027, after which it rises with inflation each January 1. From July 1, 2026, Chapter 2026-114 changed care provider background screening, including a rule that people screened through the Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse can no longer deny sealed or expunged arrests, and two health care laws eased clinical laboratory licensure and temporary certificates for doctors and nurses in areas of critical need.

The rules most recruiters ask about did not change in 2026: E-Verify still applies to private employers with 25 or more employees, the 2025 CHOICE Act still governs covered non-competes, and Florida still has no pay range, salary history or private-employer ban-the-box law. Each item below links the chapter law on the Laws of Florida site or the agency's own page. The standing checklist for hiring in the state is in our Florida hiring hub; this page is the dated list of what is new.

Which Florida hiring laws changed in 2026, and what changes in 2027?

What is Florida's minimum wage through 2027?

$15.00 an hour. Article X, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution, approved by voters in 2020, raised the rate by $1.00 each September 30 "until the Minimum Wage reaches $15.00 per hour on September 30th, 2026." FloridaCommerce's minimum wage page says "the $15.00 per hour will be effective from September 30, 2026, to December 31, 2027," and posts the 2026-2027 poster in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole. The constitution then has the state calculate an adjusted rate each September 30 from 2027, using the consumer price index for urban wage earners, to "take effect on the following January 1st." Employers may still credit tips toward the wage for eligible tipped employees, up to the amount the constitution allows.

For recruiters, $15.00 is the floor for any Florida hourly offer through 2027, and staffing agencies should check that client bill rates still cover it. Pay ranges are not required in Florida job ads, but a remote role open to workers in states that require them still needs one; see pay transparency laws by state.

What changed in Florida background screening on July 1, 2026?

Chapter 2026-114 (CS/CS/HB 1069), approved May 22, 2026, makes three changes that matter to employers who screen workers for care, education and youth roles. The Florida House's final bill analysis summarizes them:

• User administrator. A qualified entity registered with the Department of Law Enforcement to run checks on employees and volunteers "shall designate a user administrator to act as the primary point of contact and to manage compliance with state and federal laws regarding the security and privacy of criminal history information," and may name additional authorized users.
• Sealed and expunged records. The bill "prohibits a person from denying or failing to acknowledge expunged or sealed arrests if he or she is screened through the Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse ... by a qualified entity," and requires the Department of Law Enforcement to disclose those records, or their existence, to the qualified entity.
• Youth sports. Independent sanctioning authorities become qualified entities for the Clearinghouse, may exempt referees and people under 18 from Level 2 screening in some cases, and can receive records if they comply with the federal Safe Sport Authorization Act.

Outside the listed exceptions, Florida's general rule still lets a person deny an arrest covered by a sealed or expunged record. The standing rules on criminal history and the FCRA steps are in Florida background check laws. The federal EEOC rescinded its 2012 arrest and conviction records guidance on October 28, 2026 (EEOC release); Title VII itself still applies.

Which Florida health care licensing changes affect recruiting?

• Clinical laboratory staff. From July 1, 2026, Chapter 2026-134 says a technologist or technician applicant who meets the federal requirements in 42 C.F.R. 493.1489 for high complexity testing "is deemed to have satisfied the minimum qualifications for licensure" in Florida, and a technician applicant who meets 42 C.F.R. 493.1423 is deemed qualified for moderate complexity testing. Applicants still need a Florida license, proof of qualification and the fees, but lab recruiters can now screen out-of-state candidates against the federal CLIA standards they already meet.
• Critical-need areas. Chapter 2026-108 (HB 809), effective when it became law on May 22, 2026, revises when the Boards of Medicine, Osteopathic Medicine and Nursing may issue temporary certificates for practice in areas of critical need, and lets certificate holders keep providing primary care after an area loses its designation if they have an ongoing treatment relationship with patients there.

What did not change in Florida in 2026?

• E-Verify. Under section 448.095, "beginning on July 1, 2023, a private employer with 25 or more employees shall use the E-Verify system" for new hires, along with public employers and their contractors. The threshold did not change; see E-Verify requirements in Florida.
• Non-competes. The CHOICE Act rules that took effect July 1, 2025 and the older section 542.335 still apply; see Florida non-compete law.
• Recording interviews still needs the consent of everyone on the call; see Florida call recording law for recruiters.
• Drug testing under the voluntary drug-free workplace program is unchanged; see Florida drug testing laws.
• AI in hiring, pay ranges and salary history. None of the 2026 chapter laws regulates AI hiring tools, pay ranges in postings or salary history questions.

Which federal changes apply to Florida employers in 2026 and 2027?

• Form I-9. The USCIS Form I-9 page lists the 01/20/25 edition as current, says the 08/01/23 edition with a 05/31/2027 expiration may still be used until then, and says electronic I-9 systems had to update to the version expiring 05/31/2027 by 07/31/2026.
• EAD automatic extensions. DHS's final rule at 91 FR 65306, effective October 14, 2026, finalizes the end of automatic extensions for certain renewal applicants, which brings reverification dates forward; see I-9 and the EAD automatic extension.
• Criminal history guidance. The EEOC's 2012 guidance is rescinded, as noted above.

The full federal list, including OFCCP's rewritten contractor rules, is in new hiring laws for 2027.

What should Florida employers do before January 1, 2027?

1. Confirm every hourly rate is at least $15.00, including tipped employees' total pay, and display the 2026-2027 minimum wage poster.
2. Name a user administrator if you run employee or volunteer checks through the Department of Law Enforcement's program or the Clearinghouse, and limit access to authorized users.
3. Update adjudication guidance for Clearinghouse screenings so sealed or expunged arrests that now appear are handled under the program's rules.
4. Check E-Verify headcount: crossing 25 employees triggers the private employer duty.
5. Plan for January 1, 2028, when the first inflation-adjusted minimum wage takes effect.

What does this mean for staffing agencies in Florida?

Agencies that employ their temporary workers pay them at least $15.00 from September 30, 2026, and an agency with 25 or more employees uses E-Verify for each new hire. Agencies placing nurses, caregivers and lab technologists should build the Clearinghouse and licensing steps into start dates, and agencies that screen for care providers through a qualified entity should expect sealed and expunged arrests to appear in results from July 1, 2026. Licensing and registration questions for agencies are covered in our Florida staffing agency guide and Florida employer of record guide.