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Minimum Wage

Beginning January 1, 2008, Florida’s minimum wage will be rising to $6.79 per hour from the current rate of $6.67. On November 2, 2004, Florida residents voted in favor of a constitutional amendment which established Florida’s minimum wage. The minimum wage affects all state workers who fall under the federal minimum wage umbrella. State legislation mandates that the Agency for Workforce Innovation compute a new minimum wage on an annual basis and announce the updated wage on the first of the year. The present minimum wage is a reflection of a 1.85 percent change in the federal consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers in the southern region for a 12-month duration before September 1, 2007. Florida’s minimum wage is 94 cents higher than the federal minimum wage at $5.85.

Federal law states that businesses must always pay their employees the higher minimum wage, whether it is federal or state. Therefore, Florida minimum wage takes precedence over the federal pay rate as long as it remains above it.

Employees are required to pay their staff the Florida minimum wage for every hour worked in the state. Employers [of workers who are partially paid by tips] that are entitled to tip credit under the Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) are allowed to count tips as wages. Nevertheless, the employer still must pay these tipped employees a direct wage. The direct wage is formulated by subtracting the 2003 tip credit ($3.02) from the minimum wage ($6.79) for a total of $3.77 active January 1, 2008.

Employees who are refused minimum wage have the right to file a lawsuit against their employer. The Florida Attorney General can also impose penalties on those who violate the law. Florida law orders all employers who have to pay their employees minimum wage to post a minimum wage bulletin in a prominent place where all employees will come across it. Federal law also enforces employers to post a notice documenting the current federal minimum wage somewhere in an area heavily trafficked by employees.

On May 25, 2007, President George W. Bush signed legislation to steadily increase federal minimum wage over the next three years:

1. July 24, 2007 - $5.85
2. July 24, 2008 - $6.55
3. July 24, 2009 - $7.25