A move to increase minimum wage will soon help those with a Florida career.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2009, Florida’s minimum wage will increase to $7.21 per hour, giving those with a Florida job more money. This is an increase from the current minimum wage of $6.79 per hour, according to a press release. Florida’s minimum wage was created when voters approved a constitutional amendment on Nov. 2, 2004.
“The minimum wage applies to all employees in the state who are covered by the federal minimum wage,” the release states. “Florida law requires the Agency for Workforce Innovation to calculate a new minimum wage each year and publish the new minimum wage on January 1. The current minimum wage represents a 6.2 percent change in the federal Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners and clerical workers in the South Region for the 12-month period prior to September 1, 2008.”
When deciding whether the federal or minimum wage applies, a business must pay the higher of the two. The forthcoming increase will put Florida’s minimum wage over the federal minimum wage. However, the federal minimum wage is slated to increase to $7.25 on July 24, 2009, meaning at that time employers will once again have to increase their workers’ minimum wage.
Employers are required to pay workers the hourly state minimum wage for all hours worked in the state, according to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Employers of workers who receive tips who meet eligibility requirements for the tip credit under the FLSA may count tips received as wages. But the employer must also pay workers who receive tips a direct wage, which is equal to the minimum wage minus the 2003 tip credit, currently at $3.02, or a direct hourly wage of $4.10 as of Jan. 1, 2009.
If any employee doesn’t receive the minimum wage, they have the right to bring a civil action suit against their employer or any other person violating the minimum wage law. The state attorney general also can bring action to enforce the minimum wage.
“Florida Statutes require employers who must pay their employees the Florida minimum wage to post a minimum wage notice in a conspicuous and accessible place in each establishment where these employees work,” the release adds. “This poster requirement is in addition to the federal requirement to post a notice of the federal minimum wage.”