Wage Claim Defense for Miami-Dade Employers

An employment wage claim defense attorney helps a business respond when a worker says it is owed unpaid wages or overtime. The first steps matter most: reading the notice, checking the deadlines, and testing the records before anyone replies. KEW Legal handles these matters as part of its employment law work for employers in Miami-Dade and South Florida.

What a Wage Claim Against an Employer Involves

A wage claim is a demand that a business pay money an employee or former employee says is owed. It usually alleges unpaid wages, unpaid overtime, late or missing final pay, or pay held back without permission.

Claims arrive in different forms, and each form calls for a different first step:

• A demand letter from the worker or the worker’s lawyer.
• A written pre-suit notice under Florida’s minimum wage law.
• A complaint filed with a government agency.
• A lawsuit in state or federal court.

Owners often treat a letter as noise. Each stage has its own clock, so the review should start the day the notice arrives.

This page is for owners, managers, and HR leads of Miami-Dade and South Florida businesses facing one of these claims. Kristina E. Wilson, one of the lawyers at KEW Legal, is responsible for this page. The firm has offices in Coral Gables and Sunny Isles Beach.

Wage Laws That Commonly Apply to Florida Employers

Florida’s minimum wage rules come from the state constitution and the Florida Minimum Wage Act. Federal wage law can apply alongside them, and local rules may also apply.

• Minimum wage schedule. The Fla. Const. art. X, § 24 raises the state minimum wage each September 30 until it reaches $15.00 an hour on September 30, 2026. Later increases follow inflation and take effect each January 1.
• Hours covered. Employers must pay the state minimum wage for all hours worked in Florida, but only to individuals entitled to receive the federal minimum wage under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, as amended, and its implementing regulations. A short paycheck can raise a state law issue, not just a contract issue.
• Posters. Each employer that must pay the Florida minimum wage must display a notice. The Fla. Stat. § 448.109 poster is made each year in English and Spanish. The Florida Department of Commerce explains the state schedule and posting duties.
• Pay items. Commissions, bonuses, and deductions often drive these claims. The agreement and the payroll records decide whether the money was owed.
• Who is an employee. For Florida’s whistleblower provisions (ss. 448.101-448.105), Fla. Stat. § 448.101 defines an employee as a person who performs services for and under the control and direction of an employer for wages or other remuneration, and the term does not include an independent contractor. The term does not include an independent contractor. Independent contractors are excluded.
• Good faith. An employer that proves a good-faith violation, with reasonable grounds for believing it was lawful, may avoid some or all liquidated damages. A court decides the amount. See Fla. Stat. § 448.110.

What Wage Claim Defense Covers

Wage claim defense covers the review, the response, and the case itself. It can run from the first letter through settlement or trial.

• Notice review. Identify the laws cited, the time period claimed, the workers named, and every deadline.
• Records review. Test payroll, timekeeping, schedules, and classification against the claim. Missing or conflicting time records make a defense harder, so they get early attention.
• Document and communication guidance. Preserve records, and set clear rules for what managers say to staff while a claim is open.
• Written response or pre-suit negotiation. Respond in writing to the worker, the worker’s lawyer, or the agency.
• Court defense. Defend individual or multi-worker lawsuits in state or federal court.
• Settlement terms. Structure the release and explain how payments are treated.
• Practice fixes. Update payroll, timekeeping, and classification so the same problem is less likely to return.

Handbook language matters too. A handbook is not automatically a contract. Under Quaker Oats Co. v. Jewell, a policy statement creates contract rights only if it shows an explicit agreement that the manual is a separate employment contract.

How a Wage Claim Defense Works, Step by Step

A wage claim defense usually moves through five steps, and the notice clock starts first.

1. First conversation. Describe the claim and the date the notice arrived. Note any response deadline.
2. Document intake. Gather pay records, time sheets, schedules, agreements, handbook pages, and prior correspondence.
3. Assessment. Review the law, the records, and the business’s exposure. Explain the options in plain terms.
4. Response plan. Decide whether to respond directly, negotiate, or prepare a formal defense.
5. Resolution. Negotiate a settlement, or litigate through motions, discovery, and, if needed, trial. Timing depends on the forum and the claim.

The written pre-suit notice carries a short clock. Under Fla. Stat. § 448.110, the notice must state the minimum wage claimed, the work dates and hours, and the total unpaid amount. The employer then has 15 calendar days after receiving it to pay the total amount of unpaid wages or otherwise resolve the claim to the satisfaction of the person aggrieved. The filing time limit is paused during those 15 days.

Some matters may be referred to another lawyer or firm. We will say so when that applies.

Why Business Owners Work With KEW Legal on Wage Claims

KEW Legal works with business owners as outside general counsel, and wage claims fit into that role. The firm focuses its practice on business law, including outside general counsel for businesses, employment law for employers, and business contract and commercial disputes.

Wage defense does not stand alone. The same review of payroll, handbooks, and worker classifications that answers a claim can also help prevent the next one. That ongoing work is the outside general counsel model.

• Locations. The firm has offices in Coral Gables and Sunny Isles Beach. It serves business owners across Miami-Dade and South Florida.
• Lawyers. Kristina E. Wilson is responsible for this page. Natalie Martinez is also one of the firm’s lawyers.
• Plain communication. The firm explains costs and next steps in plain terms, without promising any result.

Questions Employers Ask About Wage Claims

Most owners ask the same few questions early. Short answers follow.

Talk With KEW Legal About a Wage Claim Against Your Business

Start with the notice itself. Note the date you received it, and gather any letters, pay records, or handbook pages you have.

If a wage demand, agency notice, or lawsuit just reached your business, the clock may already be running, and you don’t have to face it alone. Call 305-990-2300 or send us a message about the claim.