E-Verify requirement for private employers with 25+ employees
Florida requires private employers with 25 or more employees to use the federal E-Verify system to verify each new employee's employment eligibility. The requirement applies to employees hired on or after July 1, 2023. Verification must occur within three business days after the employee begins working for pay. All public agencies must use E-Verify regardless of size. Employers must retain documentation of E-Verify results (or Form I-9, if E-Verify is unavailable) for at least three years from the employee's initial hire date. If E-Verify is unavailable for three consecutive business days after the employee's start date, the employer may use Form I-9 instead and must document the system's unavailability.
Source: Fla. Stat. § 448.095(2)
Level 1 and Level 2 background screening requirements for regulated industries
Florida requires state agencies and employers in regulated industries to conduct statutorily mandated background screenings on employees in positions of trust or responsibility. These screenings fall into two tiers under Florida Statutes Chapter 435: Level 1 and Level 2.
Level 1 screening is name-based and state-focused. Under Fla. Stat. § 435.03(1), all employees required by law to be screened must undergo background screening as a condition of employment and continued employment, which includes employment history checks and statewide criminal correspondence checks through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). Level 1 screenings may also include local criminal records checks through local law enforcement agencies. This tier applies to positions that do not involve vulnerable persons or where the statute does not specify a Level 2 requirement.
Level 2 screening is fingerprint-based and national in scope. Under Fla. Stat. § 435.04(1)(a), all employees required by law to be screened pursuant to this section must undergo security background investigations that include fingerprinting for statewide criminal history records checks through FDLE and national criminal history records checks through the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Fingerprints submitted on or after July 1, 2012, must be submitted electronically to FDLE. Level 2 screening applies to employees designated by law as holding positions of trust or responsibility. Industries commonly subject to Level 2 requirements include healthcare facilities (under Fla. Stat. § 408.809), childcare providers, assisted living facilities, and positions involving access to children, the elderly, persons with disabilities, or other vulnerable populations, as specified in separate statutes that incorporate Chapter 435 by reference.
Disqualifying offenses: Chapter 435 enumerates disqualifying criminal offenses separately for each level. For Level 2 under § 435.04(2), disqualifying offenses include (among many others enumerated in the statute) Chapter 800 offenses (lewdness and indecent exposure, offenses against students by authority figures), human trafficking (§ 787.06), battery if the victim was a minor (§ 784.03), aggravated battery (§ 784.045), unlawful sexual activity with certain minors (§ 794.05), and drug abuse prevention and control offenses under Chapter 893 if the offense was a felony or if any other person involved was a minor. Section 435.04(2) cross-references dozens of additional statutory sections. An individual is disqualified if he or she has been arrested for and is awaiting final disposition of, has been found guilty of (regardless of adjudication), or has entered a plea of nolo contendere or guilty to any listed offense. Section 435.04(3) further requires that the screening ensure no person subject to screening has been found guilty of or entered a plea to any offense constituting domestic violence as defined in Fla. Stat. § 741.28. Level 1 disqualifying offenses are enumerated in § 435.03(2) and similarly cross-reference a separate (though partially overlapping) list of statutory offenses.
Employer obligations during screening: Under Fla. Stat. § 435.06(2)(a), an employer may not hire, select, or otherwise allow an employee to have contact with any vulnerable person in a role requiring background screening until the screening process is completed and demonstrates the absence of any grounds for denial or termination of employment. However, § 435.06(2)(d) permits an employer to hire an employee to a position that requires background screening before completion for training and orientation purposes; the employee may not have direct contact with vulnerable persons until the screening is completed and the employee demonstrates no disqualifying behaviors or offenses.
Payment for screening: Under Fla. Stat. § 435.08, either the employer or the employee is responsible for paying the costs of screening. Payment must be submitted to FDLE with the request for screening. The statute does not specify which party must pay but leaves that determination to the employer or applicable agency.
Exemption process: Individuals disqualified by a background screening may seek an exemption from disqualification under Fla. Stat. § 435.07. The head of the appropriate agency may grant an exemption for certain felonies if at least three years have elapsed since the applicant completed or was lawfully released from confinement, supervision, or nonmonetary conditions imposed by the court for the disqualifying felony. However, § 435.07(4) provides that disqualification may not be removed, and an exemption may not be granted, to any person who is a sexual predator (as designated under § 775.21), a sexual offender (under § 943.0435, unless the registration requirement has been removed), or based solely on pardon, executive clemency, or restoration of civil rights for felonies covered by §§ 435.03 or 435.04.
Scope limitation: The Level 1 and Level 2 framework applies only to employers and positions designated by statute or regulation as requiring screening under Chapter 435—principally state agencies and employers in regulated industries such as healthcare, childcare, and facilities serving vulnerable populations. Employers outside these regulated industries are not subject to Chapter 435 but must comply with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) if they use a consumer reporting agency to conduct background checks.
Source: Fla. Stat. § 435.03 (Level 1 screening standards) Source: Fla. Stat. § 435.04 (Level 2 screening standards) Source: Fla. Stat. § 435.06 (Exclusion from employment) Source: Fla. Stat. § 435.07 (Exemptions from disqualification) Source: Fla. Stat. § 435.08 (Payment for processing of fingerprints and state criminal records checks)