By Adrian Middleton, Sword & Shield, PLLC · Updated Friday, October 9, 2026
The right and the deadline
Section 440.107(13) provides that agency action under the section, if contested, must be contested under Chapter 120. The stop-work order, the Order of Penalty Assessment and each Amended Order of Penalty Assessment carry a notice of rights, and the Uniform Rules of Procedure give you 21 days from receipt to file a petition. The petition is filed with the Department's agency clerk; if it disputes material facts it is referred to the Division of Administrative Hearings for a formal hearing before an administrative law judge.
What the Department must prove
The Department bears the burden of proving, by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer was required to secure coverage and failed to, and that the penalty was calculated correctly. That burden is where cases are won. Each element of the worksheet is a factual question:
- Was each person an employee? Officers with valid exemptions, subcontractors with their own coverage or exemptions, bona fide non-construction independent contractors who meet the section 440.02(18)(d)1 test, vendors and fabricators are not.
- Was the employer in the construction industry? The one-employee threshold applies only to construction as defined in section 440.02(10) and Rule 69L-6.021. A non-construction employer needs four or more employees.
- Which weeks were uninsured? Weeks covered by a policy, a PEO, or a valid exemption come out.
- Which class code applies? The code must match the work actually performed, not the highest-rated activity on the site.
- What was the payroll? Imputed payroll falls away when records show the actual amount; reimbursements, materials and draws are not payroll.
- Was the lookback 12 or 24 months? The 24-month period requires a finding of material understatement or a prior order.
- Were the credits applied? The premium credit, the 25 percent and 15 percent reductions for first-time employers.
How most cases end
Most contested penalties are resolved by stipulation before the hearing: the Department issues an Amended Order of Penalty Assessment reflecting corrected inputs, and the petition is withdrawn. A former investigator who can read the worksheet, re-run the calculation, and point to the specific rule or manual provision the auditor got wrong usually gets there in a conversation with the Department's counsel, not in a courtroom.
What a petition cannot do
It cannot lift the stop-work order while the case is pending; only coverage, the down payment and a payment agreement do that. It cannot change the statutory formula. And it cannot be filed late: a petition filed on day 22 is dismissed, and the order becomes final.
Appeal
The final order after a DOAH hearing is reviewable by the First District Court of Appeal under section 120.68. Sword & Shield handles Florida appellate work, but the time to win the case is before the hearing officer, on the numbers.
Received an Order of Penalty Assessment? Have the worksheet audited before day 21.
(850) 766-6825Full defenseQuestions
Does filing a petition stop the penalty from being collected?+
The penalty is not final while a timely petition is pending, so the Department does not collect it, but the stop-work order stays in effect unless you have obtained a conditional release. Most employers do both: conditional release to work, petition to fix the number.
Can I contest the stop-work order itself, not just the penalty?+
Yes, within 21 days of receiving it. Grounds include that you were not an employer required to secure coverage, that coverage was in fact in place, or that the workers were not your employees. The penalty order is contested separately when it arrives.
What does a DOAH hearing look like?+
A formal evidentiary hearing before an administrative law judge, usually in Tallahassee or by video, with witnesses, exhibits and a recommended order that the Department then adopts, modifies or rejects in a final order.