HB 295 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to workers' compensation coverage by 2
employee leasing companies; amending s. 440.10, F.S.; 3
providing an additional manner in which construction 4
contractors and subcontractors must secure and 5
maintain workers' compensation for employees under 6
certain circumstances; amending s. 468.525, F.S.; 7
providing that employees of construction contractors 8
and subcontractors are deemed employees of an employee 9
leasing company for purposes of workers' compensation 10
coverage under certain circumstances; requiring an 11
employee leasing company to provide notice of intent 12
to terminate a contractual arrangement to specified 13
client companies under certain circumstances; 14
requiring an employee leasing company to allow a 15
client company to cure contractual defaults or 16
deficiencies under certain circumstances; amending s. 17
468.529, F.S.; providing circumstances under which 18
certain employees are deemed employees of an employee 19
leasing company for workers' compensation coverage; 20
requiring that an employee leasing company provide 21
written notice of termination of a contractual 22
arrangement with a client company under certain 23
circumstances; providing requirements for the notice; 24
requiring the employee leasing company to continue 25
HB 295 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
workers' compensation coverage for a specified period 26
after termination of a contractual arrangement under 27
certain circumstances; creating s. 468.5315, F.S.; 28
providing requirements relating to specified reports 29
and documents for certain client companies that are 30
construction contractors or subcontractors; providing 31
for attorney fees; providing penalties; reenacting s. 32
468.532(1)(g), F.S., relating to discipline, to 33
incorporate the amendments made by the act; pro viding 34
applicability; providing an effective date. 35
36
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 37
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Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 39
440.10, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 40
440.10 Liability for compensation. — 41
(1)(a) Every employer coming within the provisions of this 42
chapter shall be liable for, and shall secure, the payment to 43
his or her employees, or any physician, surgeon, or pharmacist 44
providing services under the provisions of s. 440.13, of the 45
compensation payable under ss. 440.13, 440.15, and 440.16. Any 46
contractor or subcontractor who engages in any public or private 47
construction in the state shall secure and maintain compensation 48
for his or her employees under this chapter as provided in s. 49
440.38 or under an employee leasing company's contractual 50
HB 295 2022
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arrangement as provided in s. 468.525(4)(g) . 51
Section 2. Paragraphs (g) and (h) are added to subsection 52
(4) of section 468.525, Florida Statutes, to read: 53
468.525 License requirements. — 54
(4) The employee leasing company's contractual 55
arrangements with its client companies shall satisfy the 56
following conditions, whereby the leasing company: 57
(g) Provides that during the term of the contractual 58
arrangement, if the client company is a contractor or 59
subcontractor engaged in the construction industry, all leased 60
and nonleased employees of the contractor or subcontractor, 61
including any employees who are hired by the contractor or 62
subcontractor, commence work for the contractor or 63
subcontractor, or are hired d irectly by the employee leasing 64
company during the term of the contractual arrangement, are 65
deemed employees of the employee leasing company for purposes of 66
workers' compensation coverage. 67
(h) Provides at least 10 days' notice to a client company 68
that is a contractor or subcontractor engaged in the 69
construction industry before terminating the contractual 70
arrangement. If the termination is for cause, the employee 71
leasing company must allow the client company to cure any 72
contractual defaults or deficiencies within that timeframe. 73
Section 3. Subsections (4) and (5) of section 468.529, 74
Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (5) and (6), 75
HB 295 2022
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respectively, subsection (1) is amended, and a new subsection 76
(4) and subsections (7) and (8) are added to that section, to 77
read: 78
468.529 Licensee's insurance; employment tax; benefit 79
plans.— 80
(1)(a) A licensed employee leasing company is the employer 81
of the leased employees, except that this provision is not 82
intended to affect the determination of any issue aris ing under 83
Pub. L. No. 93-406, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, 84
as amended from time to time. An employee leasing company shall 85
be responsible for timely payment of reemployment assistance 86
taxes pursuant to chapter 443, and shall be responsible for 87
providing workers' compensation coverage pursuant to chapter 88
440. 89
(b) However, a no licensed employee leasing company may 90
not shall sponsor a plan of self -insurance for health benefits, 91
except as may be permitted by the provisions of the Florida 92
Insurance Code or, if applicable, by Pub. L. No. 93 -406, the 93
Employee Retirement Income Security Act, as amended from time to 94
time. For purposes of this section, the term a "plan of self-95
insurance" excludes shall exclude any arrangement where an 96
admitted insurance carrier has issued a policy of insurance 97
primarily responsible for the obligations of the health plan. 98
(4) During the term of a licensed employee leasing 99
company's contractual arrangement with a client company that is 100
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a contractor or subcontractor engaged in the construction 101
industry, all leased and nonleased employees of the contractor 102
or subcontractor, including any employees who are hired by the 103
contractor or subcontractor, commence work for the contractor or 104
subcontractor, or are hired directly by the licensed employee 105
leasing company during the term of the contractual arrangement, 106
are deemed employees of the licensed employee leasing company 107
for purposes of workers' compensation coverage. 108
(7) If a contractual arra ngement between a licensed 109
employee leasing company and a client company that is a 110
contractor or subcontractor engaged in the construction industry 111
is terminated, the licensed employee leasing company must send 112
notice by first-class mail to the last known address of each 113
leased and nonleased employee who was assigned to the client 114
company. The notice must include the date the contractual 115
arrangement was terminated. The notice must also be sent by 116
first-class mail to each contractor or subcontractor with who m 117
the client company has contracted, if known. 118
(8) The licensed employee leasing company must continue to 119
provide workers' compensation coverage for 20 days for all 120
leased and nonleased employees assigned to a client company 121
after the licensed employee l easing company terminates the 122
contractual arrangement with a client company that is a 123
contractor or subcontractor engaged in the construction 124
industry. 125
HB 295 2022
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Section 4. Section 468.5315, Florida Statutes, is created 126
to read: 127
468.5315 Contractor and subcont ractor client companies in 128
construction industry; requirements; penalties. — 129
(1) Each client company that is a contractor or 130
subcontractor engaged in the construction industry shall submit 131
a copy of the quarterly earnings report to the licensed employee 132
leasing company and submit self -audits supported by the 133
quarterly earnings report. The report must include a sworn 134
statement by an officer or principal of the client company 135
attesting to the accuracy of the information contained in the 136
report. 137
(2) Each client company that is a contractor or 138
subcontractor engaged in the construction industry shall make 139
available all records necessary for a payroll verification audit 140
and authorize the licensed employee leasing company to make a 141
physical inspection of the cli ent company's operation. If the 142
client company fails upon request of the licensed employee 143
leasing company to provide access to the documents specified in 144
this section and the licensed employee leasing company cannot 145
complete the audit as a result, the cli ent company shall pay a 146
penalty not to exceed three times the most recent estimated 147
annual premium to the licensed employee leasing company. 148
(3) If a client company that is a contractor or 149
subcontractor engaged in the construction industry understates 150
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or conceals payroll, or misrepresents or conceals employee 151
duties so as to avoid proper classification for premium 152
calculations, the client company shall pay to the licensed 153
employee leasing company reasonable attorney fees and a penalty 154
equal to three times the difference of the amount of the premium 155
paid and the amount of the premium that should have been paid. 156
The penalty may be enforced in the circuit court of this state 157
having jurisdiction where the client company or the licensed 158
employee leasing company is located or transacts business. 159
(4) If an employee of a client company that is a 160
contractor or subcontractor engaged in the construction industry 161
suffers a compensable injury and the employee was not reported 162
to the licensed employee leasing company p ursuant to the 163
contractual arrangement as earning wages before the accident, 164
the client company shall indemnify the licensed employee leasing 165
company for all workers' compensation benefits paid to or on 166
behalf of the employee. Any action for indemnificatio n brought 167
by the licensed employee leasing company is cognizable in the 168
circuit court having jurisdiction where the client company or 169
licensed employee leasing company is located or transacts 170
business. The licensed employee leasing company is entitled to a 171
reasonable attorney fee if it recovers any portion of the 172
benefits paid in the action. 173
Section 5. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 174
made by this act to section 468.529, Florida Statutes, in a 175
HB 295 2022
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reference thereto, paragraph (g) of subsection (1) of section 176
468.532, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read: 177
468.532 Discipline. — 178
(1) The following constitute grounds for which 179
disciplinary action against a licensee may be taken by the 180
board: 181
(g) Failing to maintain workers' compensation insurance as 182
required in s. 468.529. 183
Section 6. This act applies to contracts entered into or 184
renewed on or after July 1, 2022. 185
Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 186