Florida Minimum Wage Now $6.79

January 14th, 2008 Posted by Amelia

The Florida state minimum wage rose from $6.67 to $6.79 per hour on January 1, 2008, an increase of twelve cents. The consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers in the South Region served as the basis for the increase. Raises are calculated as a result of the index’s 12 month period ending September 1, 2007.

The Florida minimum wage was created under a constitutional amendment. Voters included an annual cost-of-living raise.

The Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation determines the rate of increase for the following year on October 15th. This is the first year that such a cost-of-living change has occurred in Florida.

The most recent change before January 1, 2008 was a statutory increase, taking the state rate from $6.40 to $6.67 in 2007, the Florida minimum wage increased by 27 cents

Federal minimum wage is currently $5.85. In states, like Florida, workers who are covered by both federal law and by state law have the right to whichever law gives them the greater benefit. In Delaware, the state minimum wage of $6.67, is greater than the federal of $5.85, so eligible workers are entitled to the state wage of $6.67 per hour.

Also as of January 1, 2008, employees who work for tips are entitled to $3.77 per hour under Florida state law. The employer must pay this minimum wage. If the worker does not earn at least $3.02 per hour in tips during any shift, the employer must provide the difference, so that the employee earns at least $6.79 per hour.

Florida workers who do not receive the state minimum wage can sue their employer. State law also allows the state attorney general to bring an enforcement action against the employer.

When changes occur in the minimum wage, whether by state or federal law, Florida businesses must update their minimum wage posters. These posters are required by Florida law to be placed “in a conspicuous and accessible place in each establishment”.

Since the state minimum wage changed on January 1, 2008, companies in Florida should have already updated their state minimum wage posters. They will need to update them again on January 1, 2009. The federal minimum wage posters will require updating on July 24, 2008 and on July 24, 2009.

California, Massachusetts, Vermont, Florida and ten other states increased their state minimum wage on January 1, 2008,  but more wage increases are slated for 2008.

On July 1, 2008, five states will raise their minimum wage rates. Michigan’s minimum will jump 25 cents from $7.15 to $7.40 per hour. Illinois will see a 25 cent rise as well, from $7.50 per hour to $7.75 per hour.

West Virginia, Kentucky and Pennsylvania will see substantial increases in their state minimum wages on July 1, 2008, too. Pennsylvania’s minimum will rise 90 cents from $6.25 per hour to $7.15 per hour. Both Kentucky and West Virginia will establish minimum wage raises of 70 cents. West Virginia’s rate will go from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour. Kentucky’s minimum will rise from $5.85 to $6.55 per hour.

Kentucky’s rise mirrors the federal minimum wage rate which will go from $5.85 to $6.55 per hour on July 24, 2008.

The July 24, 2008 increase in the federal minimum wage is a result of the Fair Minimum Act of 2007, which President George W. Bush signed into law on May 24, 2006. The Act set up a three step system of increases. The July 24, 2008 bump will be the second step of that system.

With so many minimum wage changes on the way, many  employers will want to contract with a poster service that automatically delivers quality, laminated posters each time there is an update.

Last 10 posts by Amelia

« Delaware Minimum Wage Now $7.15
Fourteen States Increase Minimum Wage »
Posted in Employment Laws, Flordia, Minimum Wage, Wage and Hour

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