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The Florida Stop-Work Order Checklist
The first 48 hours, from a former Division of Workers' Compensation investigator. One page. Print it, keep it in the truck, hand it to your foreman.
In the first hour
- Stop all work at every Florida site. Send the crew home. Tell the general contractor.
- Do not give a statement to the investigator. Say: "My attorney will be in contact."
- Do not sign anything, not even a field worksheet.
- Do not hand over any record, photograph or phone.
- Call or text (850) 766-6825. Free, 24/7, while the investigator is still there.
- Write down everything that was said, by whom, and what was photographed.
Today
- Read the order twice: employer name, basis, date and time of service, investigator, district.
- Calendar 21 days from receipt of the order (petition deadline).
- Calendar 21 days from receipt of the records request (records, premium credit, 25% reduction).
- Keep the envelope and note how the documents arrived.
- Tell every worker they may decline to answer questions and may ask for the company's lawyer. Do not tell them what to say.
- Do not dissolve, rename or restart the company. Successor liability follows the principals.
This week
- Get coverage: a Florida policy, a PEO that enrolls the workers, or exemptions for qualifying officers.
- Keep proof of the initial premium payment; it is a credit against the penalty if documented within 21 days.
- Collect every certificate of insurance and exemption for every subcontractor; verify each on the Division's database.
- Check your own officer exemptions: dates, entity name, Sunbiz listing, 10% ownership, three-officer limit.
- Assemble, but do not produce, the records in the Department's categories.
- Audit the records before anything is produced: records penalty, imputed penalty, and anything that should never be volunteered.
Never
- Never keep working "just to finish the job." $1,000 per day and a felony.
- Never alter, backdate or reconstruct a record.
- Never produce records without knowing what is in them.
- Never ignore the DBPR letter if you hold a contractor license.
- Never miss a payment on a conditional release; the order is reinstated immediately.