menu_open Columnists
We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

If you like making less than minimum wage, this is the bill for you

10 0
30.03.2025

The minimum wage in Florida is under attack – and this time in a very dishonest way.

After years of purposeful inaction by state lawmakers, Florida voters took matters into their own hands five years ago by passing a constitutional amendment that raised the minimum wage in the state. The voter initiative increased the then-paltry minimum wage of $8.65 per hour for nontipped workers, by putting it on a schedule of yearly increases that tops out at $15 an hour by Sept. 30, 2026.

This year, the graduated minimum wage is $13 an hour in Florida.

The constitutional amendment passed despite a well-funded opposition led by several business groups, including the Associated Builders and Contractors of Florida, the Associated Industries of Florida, the Florida Farm Bureau, the Florida Home Builders Association and the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association.

And it didn’t sit well with the Republican-led state legislature, either. GOP lawmakers apparently have decided to disregard the state’s constitution and the will of the voters expressed through that referendum. It took them five years to find a new way to circumvent the voters' wishes. What they’ve come up with is a real doozy.

A bill (SB........

© USA TODAY