Florida workers' compensation stop-work orders
Served a stop-work order? Call the investigator who used to issue them.
Adrian Middleton issued stop-work orders, calculated the penalties and worked payroll fraud cases for the Division of Workers' Compensation before he became a lawyer. Now he defends Florida employers against them: the records request, the penalty audit, the release, the DBPR referral and the criminal exposure.
Answered 24 hours a day, including while the investigator is still on your site. The consultation is free.
Adrian Middleton
Attorney, Sword & Shield, PLLC
Former DWC stop-work order investigator
- Issued stop-work orders and calculated penalties for the Bureau of Compliance
- Department-trained forensic auditor
- Worked large payroll check-cashing fraud cases with the Division of Insurance Fraud
- DBPR unlicensed activity task force; defends contractor licenses today
Stop work. Everywhere.
Each day of operation in violation is $1,000, and knowingly violating the order is a felony.
Do not hand over records.
Not until you know what is in them. There are two penalty methods, and one of them does not need your records.
Do not give a statement.
Failing to secure coverage is insurance fraud under s. 440.105(4). The investigator is building that case too.
How we help
From the order to the release, with the numbers audited at every step
Pre-submission records audit
We run your books through the Department's formula before the state sees a page, and tell you whether to produce records or take the imputed penalty.
Full stop-work order defense
Investigator contact goes through counsel. Records strategy, penalty negotiation, conditional release, Chapter 120 petition.
Exemption filing
Certificates of Election to be Exempt, filed correctly, for qualifying officers and LLC members.
The Stop-Work Order Guide
Fourteen chapters and the audit worksheet, for $99. Written for employers, by a former investigator.
Free penalty calculator
Estimate your penalty under both methods in two minutes.
DBPR and criminal referrals
Licensed contractor? The referral is mandatory. Investigator asking about intent? That is the felony case. We handle both.
The Stop-Work Order Guide
Calculate your own penalty before the state calculates it for you
The guide walks you through the order, the business records request, the records you need, the formula the Department uses, NCCI class codes, how to remove vendors, fabricators, exempt officers and insured subcontractors from the calculation, the imputed alternative, every form the state issues, and the release. The Excel audit worksheet calculates your projected penalty line by line.
Inside the guide
- 1. The three clocks
- 2. The stop-work order
- 3. The business records request
- 4. Preparing your records
- 5. The penalty formula
- 6. NCCI class codes
- 7. Calculating your own penalty
- 8. Imputed vs. records
- 9. The forms the state issues
- 10. Getting released
- 11. Contesting
- 12. Criminal exposure
- 13. The DBPR referral
- 14. The audit worksheet
Understand the process
Everything the Department will do, explained in order
The stop-work order process, from the day it is served to the day it is released
A stop-work order is not one event. It is a sequence of orders, deadlines and calculations that the Bureau of Compliance runs the same way every time. Here is the whole sequence, so nothing surprises you.
What causes a stop-work order
Every stop-work order is grounded in section 440.107. The statute lists only a handful of triggers, and almost every order falls into one of five patterns.
The penalty audit: how Florida calculates a stop-work order penalty
The penalty is arithmetic, not discretion. Once you understand the formula, you can audit the Department's worksheet line by line, and you can decide whether producing records or accepting an imputed penalty costs you less.
The business records request
The Request for Production of Business Records is the document that turns a stop-work order into a dollar amount. What you produce, and what you do not, decides the penalty.
Do's and don'ts after a stop-work order
The first 48 hours decide most of the case. These are the rules I would give a family member.
Criminal exposure: when a stop-work order becomes a felony case
The stop-work order is a civil enforcement tool. The statute right next to it makes the same conduct a felony. Understanding where the line is, and who is watching for it, is the reason you do not talk to the investigator alone.
Licensed contractors: the stop-work order and your license
For a certified or registered contractor, a stop-work order is two cases. The second one is against your license, and it does not go away when the penalty is paid.
Getting the stop-work order released
You do not have to pay the whole penalty to go back to work. You do have to satisfy three conditions in the right order, and keep satisfying one of them.
Contesting a stop-work order or penalty assessment
Every order the Department issues under section 440.107 is agency action that you have the right to contest. The deadline is short and the arguments that win are specific.
Questions employers ask first
Quick answers
What is a stop-work order?+
An order from the Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Workers' Compensation, requiring an employer that failed to secure workers' compensation coverage (or failed to produce records within 21 days) to cease all business operations under section 440.107(7)(a), Florida Statutes.
How much is the penalty?+
Two times the premium you would have paid on the uninsured payroll for the preceding 12 months (24 for understated payroll or repeat employers), or $1,000, whichever is greater. If you do not produce records, payroll is imputed at 1.5 times the statewide average weekly wage per worker per week.
Should I give the investigator my records?+
Not until you know what is in them. There are two penalty methods, and the records can contain evidence of crimes you are not required to volunteer. Records are not required to resolve the order. Make that decision with counsel.
Is this a crime?+
Knowingly failing to secure coverage is insurance fraud under section 440.105(4): a third-degree felony under $20,000, second-degree from $20,000, first-degree at $100,000 or more. Do not give a statement without counsel.
Can I get back to work before the penalty is paid?+
Yes. With coverage in place, a $1,000 down payment and a payment agreement, the Department may issue an Order of Conditional Release.
More on the questions and facts page.