For agents, brokers and PEOs
What to tell a client who was just served a stop-work order
A one-page script for Florida workers' comp agents and PEOs, from a former Division of Workers' Compensation investigator. Print it, keep it by the phone, and hand your client a plan instead of a guess.
Your client calls from a jobsite. An investigator from the Division of Workers' Compensation has posted a stop-work order and is asking questions. The client wants a policy bound in the next hour and wants to know what to say. Here is what to tell them, in order.
Say this first
- "Stop work at every site, right now." The order applies to every Florida worksite once served on the employer, and working in violation is $1,000 per day under s. 440.107(7)(c) and a felony if knowing under s. 440.105(4)(b)8.
- "Do not give the investigator a statement. Say 'my attorney will be in contact' and nothing else." The questions about how long the crew has worked and how they are paid are the elements of insurance fraud under s. 440.105(4)(a)3. Nothing in Chapter 440 requires a jobsite interview.
- "Do not hand over any records today, and do not sign anything." There are two penalty methods and the records decision is the whole case. It is made with counsel, inside the 21-day window, not on the tailgate.
- "Yes, I will bind coverage. The order will not be released until you have it." Release under s. 440.107(7)(a) requires proof of compliance plus payment or a payment agreement. Bind the policy, confirm the carrier reports it to the Division's database, and send the client the proof of coverage.
The three numbers the client will ask about
- Penalty: two times the premium the employer should have paid on uninsured payroll for the prior 12 months (24 months if payroll was understated or there is a prior order), minimum $1,000. s. 440.107(7)(d)1.
- If no records are produced within 21 days of the written request: payroll is imputed at 1.5 times the statewide average weekly wage for every identified worker, officer, partner and sole proprietor. For 2026 that is $2,036.93 per person per week. s. 440.107(7)(e).
- First-time employer reductions: credit for the initial premium payment on the new policy, 25 percent off for producing records within 21 days, 15 percent off for the Division's online tutorial. All require action within 21 days of the records request. s. 440.107(7)(d)1.
What the new policy does and does not do
- It gets the order released once the down payment and payment agreement are in place (minimum $1,000 down, Rule 69L-6.025). It does not reduce the penalty for the uninsured period.
- The premium credit in s. 440.107(7)(d)1.a is for the initial payment of the estimated annual premium on the new policy, delivered to the Department within 21 days of the records request. Give the client a receipt that shows the amount and the policy number; for a PEO, a written confirmation of the workers' comp portion of the initial payment.
- Officer exemptions are not a substitute for a policy if the company has any other paid worker. In construction, one employee triggers coverage. A certificate covers only the officer named on it, only for the company named on it, for two years. s. 440.05.
- An out-of-state policy without a Florida endorsement is no coverage in Florida (s. 440.38(7)), and buying one to avoid Florida rates is a second-degree felony (s. 440.10(1)(g)).
Hand them this number
- Adrian Middleton, Sword & Shield, PLLC: (850) 766-6825, cell, calls and texts, 24 hours a day. Free consultation, including while the investigator is still on site. He issued these orders as a Division investigator and calculated the penalties; he now defends employers against them.
- The firm does not sell insurance and sends every uninsured client back to their agent for the policy. Your client stays your client.
- Everything above, with the forms, deadlines and a free penalty calculator, is at stopworkorder.com.
Why agents are the first call
The agent gets the call before the lawyer does, because the client thinks a policy fixes it. A policy is necessary and it is not sufficient. The penalty is calculated on the uninsured months behind the client, and the two decisions that decide its size, whether to produce records and what to say to the investigator, are usually made in the first hour, before anyone has read the order. An agent who gives the four sentences above saves the client from the two mistakes that cost the most.
What we send back to you: every uninsured client, for the policy. We do not place coverage and we do not recommend carriers. If a client asks us who to call, the answer is their agent.
Questions agents ask
- Will a new policy get the stop-work order released?
- It is the compliance half of release. Section 440.107(7)(a) releases the order on proof of compliance plus payment of the penalty in full or a $1,000 down payment with a payment agreement under Rule 69L-6.025. Make sure the carrier reports the policy to the Division's database; the investigator checks the database, not the binder.
- Does the new policy reduce the penalty?
- Not for the uninsured period. A first-time employer gets a credit for the initial premium payment on the new policy if proof of coverage and payment reach the Department within 21 days of the records request, under section 440.107(7)(d)1.a.
- My client's officers have exemptions. Why was he served?
- A certificate covers only the named officer, for the named company, for two years. It covers no employees, and in construction one paid worker triggers coverage. The common failures are an expired certificate, a certificate for a different entity, or an officer not listed on Sunbiz. See the exemption hub for the five failures.
- Do you refer clients to insurance?
- No. The firm does not sell or place coverage. Every uninsured client is sent back to their agent or PEO for the policy.
More for your clients: the do's and don'ts, the free penalty calculator, the exemption hub, and the one-page client checklist.