What causes a stop-work order

By Adrian Middleton, Sword & Shield, PLLC · Updated Friday, October 9, 2026

1. No policy at all

The classic case: a construction employer with one or more employees and no Florida workers' compensation policy, or a non-construction employer with four or more employees and none. Section 440.02(20)(b)2 sets those thresholds, and section 440.10(1)(a) requires every contractor or subcontractor engaged in construction in Florida to secure and maintain compensation for its employees. The investigator checks the Division's proof-of-coverage database on the spot; if nothing comes up in the company's name, the order follows.

2. Lapsed, cancelled or wrong coverage

A policy that was cancelled for non-payment, that expired, that was written in another state without a Florida endorsement, or that covers a different entity than the one paying the crew. Section 440.10(1)(g) requires a Florida policy or endorsement using Florida class codes, rates, rules and manuals; failure is a second-degree felony. Out-of-state contractors doing Florida work are a common target.

3. Exemptions that do not hold up

Officers who assume they are exempt but never filed, whose certificate expired (they are valid for two years under section 440.05(6)), who are not listed as officers on Sunbiz, who own less than 10 percent, or who are the fourth officer of a construction company (only three officers of a corporation or affiliated group may be exempt under section 440.02(18)(b)2). A subcontractor's exemption that names a different company than the one being paid. Every one of those people is an employee for penalty purposes. Read exemptions.

4. Misclassification and understated payroll

Section 440.107(2) says that an employer who materially understates or conceals payroll, materially misrepresents or conceals employee duties to avoid proper classification, or misrepresents information bearing on the experience modification factor is deemed to have failed to secure compensation, even with a policy in force. This is the trigger behind orders served on insured employers: paying crews in cash, calling carpenters clerical, running labor through 1099s, or using a check-cashing store to keep payroll off the books. These orders carry the 24-month lookback and often a referral to the Division of Investigative and Forensic Services. See underreported payroll and misclassification.

5. Failing to produce records

Since the 2022 amendments, section 440.107(7)(a) authorizes a stop-work order against an employer that fails to produce required business records within 21 days after receipt of the Department's written request, independent of whether coverage was in place. An employer that ignores a records request after a compliance audit can be served for that reason alone.

What the investigator actually looks at

• Who is physically working, what they are doing, and whose tools and trucks they are using.
• What each worker says about who hired them, how long they have worked, how and how much they are paid.
• The Division's coverage and exemption databases, Sunbiz, DBPR license records and the county permit.
• Whether the general contractor collected certificates of insurance or exemption from the subcontractor, as section 440.10(1)(c) requires.
• Whether a payroll company or PEO is involved, and whether the workers on site are actually on the PEO roster.

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