Florida voters once again showed their approval for a progressive ballot initiative. Florida’s Amendment 2, which proposed a gradual increase of Florida’s minimum wage to $15 an hour, received more than 60% approval by voters and therefore passed on November 3, 2020. Amendment 2 received 60.8% of the vote, which was considerably more than President Trump who received 51.2% voter approval in Florida.
Florida’s Amendment 2 will increase Florida’s minimum wage from $8.56 an hour to $10 an hour beginning on September 30, 2021. Thereafter, Florida’s minimum wage will increase by $1 an hour per year until it reaches $15 an hour. The federal minimum wage is currently at $7.25 per hour.
While its a tradition for Florida voters to pass progressive ballot initiatives, it also is a tradition for Florida’s Republican controlled state legislature to defang those initiatives. As such, Florida businesses will have to wait and see how Florida’s state legislature defines “employer” and “employee” and whether the legislature moves to exempt certain industries or make other efforts to reduce the coverage of Amendment 2.
Dori K. Stibolt is a partner with the law firm of Fox Rothschild LLP. Dori defends and counsels management in labor and employment litigation matters pertaining to wage and overtime claims, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, leave/restraint, and whistle-blower claims. You can contact Dori at 561-804-4417 or dstibolt@foxrothschild.com.