Prosecuting Wage Theft: What Florida Employers Need to Know as Other States Turn Up the Heat

A fast-moving national trend

Several jurisdictions now treat the intentional non-payment of wages as a criminal offense. Connecticut classifies wage theft as a felony when the unpaid amount exceeds $2,000. California, through Assembly Bill 1003 (Penal Code § 487m), makes the deliberate underpayment of wages grand theft when the amount is more than $950 for a single employee or more than $2,350 in the aggregate for two or more employees within any 12-month period. Colorado designates unpaid wages a “thing of value” under its general theft statute, and Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Virginia all authorize imprisonment for payroll falsification or failure to pay wages. Prosecutors have started filing criminal charges against employers in restaurant, construction, agriculture, and garment-industry cases, often pairing wage counts with fraud or racketeering allegations.

Federal regulators signal a parallel shift

On June 25, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that it will publish by May 9, 2026 a comprehensive list of every criminal regulatory offense it enforces and will adopt criteria for referring severe wage cases to the Department of Justice. The notice highlights aggravating factors such as worker coercion, repeat violations, and obstruction of investigations, circumstances commonly found in overtime and misclassification disputes.

Where Florida stands today

Florida has no statewide statute that expressly criminalizes wage theft. Most pay disputes proceed as civil actions. The Florida Minimum Wage Act (Florida Statutes § 448.110) authorizes back pay, liquidated damages, and a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for willful violations. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, willful violations can lead to fines of up to $10,000 and, for a second conviction, imprisonment. Miami-Dade County’s Wage Theft Ordinance offers an administrative process with treble-damage awards but imposes no jail time, and similar ordinances in Broward and Alachua counties likewise stop short of criminal sanctions.

Why the national crackdown still matters to Florida employers

Multi-state operations face exposure wherever employees work, so a Florida company with staff in New York, California, or Connecticut could encounter felony charges even if headquarters are in Jacksonville. The forthcoming Department of Labor–Department of Justice referral framework means a serious or repeat Fair Labor Standards Act violation in Florida could be prosecuted criminally despite the absence of state penalties. Florida prosecutors may also apply existing theft or fraud statutes when underpayment is coupled with false records or deceptive intent. A criminal indictment anywhere can jeopardize public contracts and professional licenses back home.

Compliance road map for Florida employers

Begin with a thorough wage audit to confirm overtime calculations, tip credits, and rounding practices. Review independent-contractor classifications under the Department of Labor’s January 2024 rule. Pay departing employees promptly, since delays often spark criminal scrutiny. Train managers to document hours and approve payroll changes in writing. If your organization operates in multiple states, track wage-theft statutes in each jurisdiction and fold criminal-exposure analysis into enterprise risk assessments.

Staying ahead of this enforcement wave requires the same vigilance Florida employers already apply to civil wage suits, with the added reality that the stakes now include potential felony records and jail time. Proactive compliance today remains the surest defense against tomorrow’s criminal headline.