Florida was late to the party, adopting workers' compensation eighty one years ago, in 1935 (several states have already celebrated centennials). The statute, the concept of workers' compensation, was voluntary in Florida through 1967, with Sections 440.03 and 440.05 describing the ability and process of electing not be covered. The statute has been through a variety of changes over the decades, but a very significant change was the Legislative decision to make workers' compensation mandatory for most employers by 1971. These links are to the statutes, which are available on www.fljcc.org, on the "resources" tab.
There has been much prognosticating and opinionating in Florida over the last several months. Many conversation have revolved around "what will the Legislature do about ___________?" That sentence began with "Miles" in the blank, and then it was "Castellanos," and then "Westphal," by which time it seems it was often filled with an amalgamation of the "those cases" or "the Supreme Court cases" (which specificity might have perhaps intentionally excluded Miles, or perhaps illustrated lack of understanding that Miles' was a First DCA decision).