Florida – Minimum Wage Update
 
March 5, 2008
 
Leona McFarlane- Miami

On November 2, 2004, Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment which created Florida’s minimum wage. The amendment was implemented by Florida statutes section 448.110, also known as Florida’s Minimum Wage Act. Under Florida’s Minimum Wage Act, the definitions of “employer,” “employee” and “wage” are the same as those established under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Nonetheless, state wage and hour laws, such as Florida’s minimum wage, may establish standards more protective of employees than those set by the FLSA.

Florida’s minimum wage for 2008 is $6.79 per hour, a $.12 increase from 2007’s per hour minimum wage of $6.67. It is currently $.94 more than the federal minimum wage of $5.85. On May 25, 2007, however, President George W. Bush signed legislation increasing the federal minimum wage. The new federal minimum wage increases in a three-step process as follows:

$5.85 – July 24, 2007
$6.55 – July 24, 2008
$7.25 – July 24, 2009

Federal law directs that employers must pay the higher of the federal or state minimum wage rates; thus Florida employers must pay the Florida rate until the federal minimum wage exceeds the state rate.

Both the Florida Statutes and the FLSA require employers to post minimum wage notices in a conspicuous and accessible place in each establishment where employees work. Florida’s minimum wage poster is available for downloading in English and Spanish from the Agency for Workforce Innovation’s Web site at: http://www.floridajobs.org/resources/fl_min_wage.html. The federal poster can be downloaded from the U.S. Department of Labor Web site at: http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/posters/flsa.htm.

For more information, email Leona McFarlane at leona.mcfarlane@hklaw.com or call toll free, 1.888.688.8500.