Proposed SB 510, and related HB 35, would add a new statute to Florida’s general labor regulations laws, directed at employers and employees working in hot, outdoor environments. The proposed statute imposes a number of new responsibilities on employers, including requiring training on heat illness, providing a minimum amount of accessible and free drinking water, and providing access to shade or cooler areas. The If enacted, the statute would take effect October 1, 2025.

Proposed HB 117 would create a new section within Florida’s home solicitation sales statutes to impose certain requirements on unlicensed contractors making improvements to residential property. The statute, which applies to contractors who are not required to be licensed under Part I, Chapter 489, Florida Statutes, imposes timelines for starting the work, applying for permits, and continuing work at a project and creates criminal penalties for failing to comply with the statute. If enacted, the statute would take effect July 1, 2025.

Florida’s Third DCA reversed a trial court’s ruling that a property owner could seek punitive damages from a roadway contractor that improperly used the owner’s property as a staging area for construction. While the trial court found that the contractor had acted intentionally, the appellate court noted that to pursue punitive damages against a corporate entity, additional evidence of corporate involvement needed to be presented and was not.