The Florida House of Representatives and Senate unanimously voted to increase the earnings of worker's compensation judges, however Gov. Ron DeSantis has not signed off on it yet.
Introduced by Rep. Charlie Stone (R-Ocala), HB 1049 specifies that full-time judges of compensation claims will receive a salary equal to that of a county court judge and that the Deputy Chief Judge receives a salary of $1,000 more per year than the salary paid to a full-time judge of compensation claims, according to the website of the Florida Senate.
"The main benefit will be in attracting well-qualified, experienced attorneys to undertake this role. It will also likely produce benefits in the retention of experienced and dedicated public servants," said Deputy Chief Judge David Langham.
Currently, Judges of Compensation Claims receive up to some $124,500 annually and have not received pay raises regularly over the last 20 years, according to Langham. Their salary had, at one time, been tied to the Florida Circuit Courts, which allowed them to keep pace with the effects of inflation, according to HB 1049.
"The once-competitive salary is no longer attracting applicants for this crucial job of adjudicating disputes regarding workers’ compensation benefits," Judge Langham told the Florida Record.
Langham further disclosed that the Florida Bar Workers’ Compensation Section championed the salary hike.
"The Office of Judges of Compensation Claims is supportive of that effort and believes that the return of parity will encourage applications," said Langham in an interview. "The workers and employers of Florida benefit when the job attracts and retains the best and most experienced attorneys."
HB 1049 states that for fiscal year 2020-2021, the sum of $1,114,087 in recurring funds will be appropriated from the Operating Trust Fund to the Division of Administrative Hearings and the associated salary rate of 870,392 is authorized for the purposes of making salary adjustments to judges of compensation claims.
"The governor has 15 days to sign or veto HB 1049 from the day it's submitted," said Judge Langham. "HB 1049 will become law without his signature after 15 days."
According to the Florida House website, the bill has not yet been submitted to the governor for his signature.