Florida Statutes

Fla. Stat. § 440.21 (2025)

Invalid agreements.

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440.21 Invalid agreements.
(1) Any agreement by an employee to pay any portion of premium paid by her or his employer to a carrier or to contribute to a benefit fund or department maintained by the employer for the purpose of providing compensation or medical services and supplies as required by this chapter is invalid.
(2) An agreement by an employee to waive her or his right to compensation under this chapter is invalid.
History.s. 21, ch. 17481, 1935; CGL 1936 Supp. 5966(21), 8135(10); s. 364, ch. 71-136; s. 118, ch. 71-355; s. 23, ch. 78-300; s. 124, ch. 79-40; s. 21, ch. 79-312; s. 43, ch. 89-289; s. 56, ch. 90-201; s. 52, ch. 91-1; s. 28, ch. 93-415; s. 117, ch. 97-103.

Arrestable Offenses under F.S. 440.21

M = misdemeanor · F = felony · degree: F=1st S=2nd T=3rd
§440.21PUBLIC ORDER CRIMESREMOVEDM · 2nd
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 45 cases, 1951–2014 · leading case: City of Hollywood v. Lombardi, 770 So. 2d 1196 (Fla. 2000).
City of Hollywood v. Lombardi, 770 So. 2d 1196 (Fla. 2000). · cites it 17× “[16] Accordingly, we hold that where the "pension plan is funded at least in part with employees' contributions, decreasing workers' compensation benefits on account of pension benefits runs afoul of section 440.21, Florida Statutes (1993)." Lombardi, 738 So.”
Barragan v. City of Miami, 545 So. 2d 252 (Fla. 1989). · cites it 8× “Section 440.21, Florida Statutes (1987), an integral part of the workers' compensation law, states: 440.”
Mandico v. Taos Const., Inc., 605 So. 2d 850 (Fla. 1992). · cites it 5× “11(1), Florida Statutes (1983), [1] because he was an independent contractor from whose wages Taos had "unilaterally extracted" the cost of the premium for worker's compensation insurance in violation of section 440.21, Florida Statutes (1983). In their answer to the complaint,…”
Champlovier v. City of Miami, 667 So. 2d 315 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995). · cites it 8× “On the authority of section 440.21, Florida Statutes (1993), as construed in Barragan , [1] Mr.”
City of Hollywood v. Lombardi, 738 So. 2d 491 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999). · cites it 8× “Since the pension plan is funded at least in part with employees' contributions, decreasing workers' compensation benefits on account of pension benefits runs afoul of section 440.21, Florida Statutes (1993). Under Barragan v.”
City of Palm Bay v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 114 So. 3d 924 (Fla. 2013). · cites it 2× “Barragan concerned an ordinance that permitted the City to deduct workers’ compensation benefits from an employee’s pension benefits in contradiction to the provisions of section 440.21, Florida Statutes (1987). Because the workers’ compensation scheme outlined in chapter 440…”
Nolan v. Delta Airlines, 733 So. 2d 1076 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999). · cites it 8× “1st DCA 1997), section 440.21 exists "to redress employers' misapplication of other employee entitlements in (legally ineffective) efforts to discharge workers' compensation obligations.”
Brown v. SS Kresge Co., Inc., 305 So. 2d 191 (Fla. 1974). · cites it 4× “Section 440.21, Florida Statutes, provides that: "No agreement by an employee to waive his right to compensation under this chapter shall be valid.”
City of Miami v. Bell, 634 So. 2d 163 (Fla. 1994). · cites it 3× “As noted above, this Court held in Barragan that the 1973 repeal of section 440.09(4), Florida Statutes (1971), had the effect of invalidating the City ordinance.”
Escambia Cnty. Sheriff's Dept. v. Grice, 692 So. 2d 896 (Fla. 1997). · cites it 2× “1989), this Court observed that section 440.21, Florida Statutes (1985), [1] precludes offsets for collateral benefits until an injured worker has received 100% of his average weekly wage in combined benefits, regardless of whether the collateral benefits were funded by the…”
City of Daytona Beach v. Amsel, 585 So. 2d 1044 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991). · cites it 2× “, that pursuant to section 440.21, Florida Statutes, an employer is prohibited from deducting workers' compensation benefits from an employee's pension benefits.”
City of Miami v. Burnett, 596 So. 2d 478 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992). · cites it 2× “Its rejection of the City of Miami ordinance as contravening section 440.21, Florida Statutes (1987), the state law which prohibits the city from collecting from the employee a contribution to a fund to pay workers' compensation benefits, is interpreted by this court to mean…”
— 440.21(1) — 5 cases
City of Hollywood v. Lombardi, 770 So. 2d 1196 (Fla. 2000). “[16] Accordingly, we hold that where the "pension plan is funded at least in part with employees' contributions, decreasing workers' compensation benefits on account of pension benefits runs afoul of section 440.21, Florida Statutes (1993)." Lombardi, 738 So.”
Mandico v. Taos Const., Inc., 605 So. 2d 850 (Fla. 1992). “11(1), Florida Statutes (1983), [1] because he was an independent contractor from whose wages Taos had "unilaterally extracted" the cost of the premium for worker's compensation insurance in violation of section 440.21, Florida Statutes (1983). In their answer to the complaint,…”
City of Hollywood v. Lombardi, 738 So. 2d 491 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999). “Since the pension plan is funded at least in part with employees' contributions, decreasing workers' compensation benefits on account of pension benefits runs afoul of section 440.21, Florida Statutes (1993). Under Barragan v.”
GAB Bus. Servs., Inc. v. Dixon, 739 So. 2d 637 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999).
HRS v. Pascual, 785 So. 2d 509 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000).
— 440.21(2) — 10 cases
Nolan v. Delta Airlines, 733 So. 2d 1076 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999). “1st DCA 1997), section 440.21 exists "to redress employers' misapplication of other employee entitlements in (legally ineffective) efforts to discharge workers' compensation obligations.”
City of Miami v. Knight, 510 So. 2d 1069 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987).
Hoffkins v. City of Miami, 339 So. 2d 1145 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976).
Boatright v. City of Jacksonville, 334 So. 2d 339 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976).
City of Miami v. Knight, 596 So. 2d 104 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992).
— 440.21(a) — 1 case
Elias v. World Wide Concessions, LLC, 41 So. 3d 304 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010).
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.

This Florida statute resource is curated by Florida Bar member Graham W. Syfert, a Jacksonville, Florida personal injury and workers' compensation attorney (Florida Bar No. 39104). Attorney Syfert regularly handles Chapter 440 matters in the context of workers' compensation claims and represents clients throughout Northeast Florida. For legal consultation, call 904-383-7448.