Florida's minimum wage climbs to $15 per hour on September 30, marking the final step of a six-year phase-in that voters approved at the ballot box back in 2020. The increase raises pay from the current $14 hourly floor, and it applies to every hour worked in the state, regardless of whether an employer is based elsewhere. Tipped employees will also see a bump, with their minimum direct wage rising to $11.98 per hour once employers apply the federal tip credit.
The milestone traces back to November 3, 2020, when Florida voters approved Amendment 2, a constitutional amendment phasing in the $15 wage floor, according to News4JAX. That vote wasn't a landslide by Florida's standards — it passed with 60.82% support, just clearing the 60% supermajority Florida requires for constitutional ballot initiatives, per Wikipedia. The measure made Florida the eighth state in the country, and the first in the American South, to adopt a $15 hourly wage, and one of only four states to write minimum wage protections directly into its constitution, according to the Florida Policy Institute.
Who Bankrolled the Ballot Measure
Orlando personal injury attorney John Morgan and his law firm poured more than $4.6 million into Florida For A Fair Wage, serving as the primary sponsor and chairperson behind the 2020 campaign, according to WUSF. Morgan had previously bankrolled Florida's successful 2016 medical marijuana constitutional amendment. A 2020 economic analysis by the Florida Policy Institute projected the phased-in $15 floor would eventually boost earnings for roughly 2.5 million workers, more than 26% of Florida's entire workforce.
That reach helps explain why the wage floor keeps surfacing in Florida's restaurant and hospitality industry, where low-wage jobs are heavily concentrated. Hoodline has reported on the tension directly: Al's Pizza closed its Riverside shop after 23 years, citing the scheduled climb to $15 alongside rising labor costs, while a Jacksonville restaurant went dark on Atlantic Boulevard earlier this year after its owner pointed to rising wage floors and operating expenses.
What Happens After the Floor Is Reached
Once Florida hits $15, the annual adjustment formula changes entirely. Beginning in 2027, wage increases will no longer follow the fixed $1 annual steps used during the phase-in; instead, they'll be calculated from the 12-month percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers through August 31, according to Wikipedia's account of the amendment. That inflation-indexing approach is meant to preserve the wage floor's purchasing power as costs continue to rise.
Florida employers must pay the state minimum wage for all hours worked in Florida, and the state's wage definitions follow those set under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, per News4JAX's reporting. Employers claiming a tip credit for tipped employees can apply the $3.02 FLSA tip credit toward the $15 rate, which produces the $11.98 direct wage. Businesses are also required to post a minimum wage notice in a conspicuous, accessible spot at every worksite, and that notice must be available in English, Spanish, and Creole.
Enforcement and What Workers Can Do
Workers who believe they've been shorted have a specific legal path under Florida Statute Section 448.110. Before filing a lawsuit, an employee must send the employer formal written notice of the unpaid wages and give them 15 calendar days to resolve the claim, according to the Florida Senate. Employees may also bring a civil action directly against an employer or individual who violates the law, and both the Florida Attorney General and a legislature-designated official may file civil actions to enforce compliance.
Employers found liable for intentionally violating the wage law face state civil penalties of $1,000 per willful violation, on top of full back wages, liquidated damages, and attorney's fees owed to workers, the Florida Senate's statute notes. Those stakes have already played out locally this month: a Pompano Beach buffet operator was found to owe $732,000 in back wages, and a South Florida restaurant chain is facing a growing federal lawsuit after 22 more servers joined a case alleging they worked off the clock.
Why Local Cities Can't Set Their Own Rate
High-cost South Florida cities can't simply pass their own, higher minimum wage to address local affordability pressures. A 2003 Florida statute, Section 218.077, preempts cities and counties from setting municipal minimum wages above the state standard for private businesses. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed that preemption in 2019 after striking down a proposed $13.31 local minimum wage in Miami Beach, which had enacted the ordinance in 2016 citing coastal housing costs, according to Practical Law's account of the ruling.
Florida's $15 rate will still be more than double the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, which hasn't moved since July 2009 under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Florida Department of Commerce, formerly the Department of Economic Opportunity, oversees minimum wage administration statewide and publishes the annual wage rate by October 15 each year, along with the mandatory tri-lingual compliance posters employers must display.
