Pay the Workers! Moving in the Right Direction but not there Yet!

Florida's current $7.79 hourly minimum wage rate will increase to $7.93 effective January 1, 2014.  Florida's minimum wage law requires the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity to recalculate Florida's minimum wage annually based upon the increase in the federal Consumer Price Index for Urban Earners and Clerical Workers in the Southern Region. This minimum wage increase applies to all employees who are covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

This hourly increase also impacts wages paid to tipped employees working in Florida. For tipped employees who receive tips as part of their compensation under the FLSA's tip credit rules, employers may count those tips as wages under Florida's minimum wage law. Employers may take a credit of up to $3.02 per hour for all tipped employees.  However, tipped employees must also receive a direct hourly wage. Effective January 1, 2014, this direct hourly wage must be at least $4.91 – calculated as Florida's minimum wage ($7.93) minus the permissible tip credit ($3.02).