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Florida's New Minimum Wage Now In Effect
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$6.15 per hour |
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Voters made their decision on November 2 of last year and on May 2, 2005, that decision became standard practice. That is the day that Florida's minimum wage increased to $6.15 per hour. The wage increase was introduced under Article X of the Florida Minimum Wage Amendment and will be regulated by Florida's Agency for Workforce Innovation (AWI). While the law sets the general per hour rate of $6.15, tipped employees who meet eligibility requirements for the tip credit under the Fair Labor Standards Act may count tips actually received as wages toward this minimum. Employers, however, cannot pay less than $3.13 per hour in direct wages to tipped employees. The law also makes provisions for employees to pursue legal action if they are not receiving this wage after May 2. Employers are forbidden from retaliation against employees who exercise this right. Florida's Attorney General reserves the right to bring suit against employers not in compliance. According to the statute, AWI will perform a calculation on September 30 (and yearly on this date) to determine the following year's minimum wage amount. This new wage amount will be indexed to inflation each year and become effective the following January 1. |
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For more information, click here to go to the section of the Agency for Workforce Innovation website reserved for Florida's Minimum Wage. |
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Read Article X, Section 24 of the Constitution of the State of Florida. |
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