Photo: JJ Gouin / iStock / Getty Images
(Tallahassee, FL) - The final one-dollar increase in Florida's voter-approved minimum wage will take effect Thursday, October 1st, pushing it up to $15 per hour.
It’s part of a constitutional amendment that was approved by voters in 2020. Karen Woodall, with the Florida People’s Advocacy Center, says the pay increase is "much needed for Florida’s lowest-paid workers and it's a start."
The minimum wage increase could bump up pay by about $2100 dollars annually, for full-time workers. Any future increases will be based on inflation.
Some economists estimate a "living wage" would be about $48 per hour on average.
The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour but many states, like Florida, also have minimum wage laws.
"In cases where an employee is subject to both the state and federal minimum wage laws, the employee is entitled to the higher of the two minimum wages," according to the Department of Labor.