F
lorida’s Minimum Wage
(Updated October 13, 2017)
The 2018 Florida minimum wage is $8.25 per hour, effective January 1, 2018. Florida law
requires the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity to calculate a minimum wage rate
each year. The annual calculation is based on the percentage increase in the federal Consumer
Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers in the South Region for the 12-month
period prior to September 1, 2017.
On November 2, 2004, Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment which created
Florida's minimum wage. The minimum wage applies to all employees in the state who are
covered by the federal minimum wage.
Employers must pay their employees the hourly state minimum wage for all hours worked in
Florida. The definitions of
employer,
employee, and
wage for state purposes are the same as
those established under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and its implementing
regulations. Employers of tipped employees, who meet eligibility requirements for the tip credit
under the FLSA, may credit towards satisfaction of the minimum wage tips up to the amount of
the allowable FLSA tip credit in 2003. However, the employer must pay tipped employees a
direct wage. The direct wage is calculated as equal to the minimum wage ($8.25) minus the
2003 tip credit ($3.02), or a direct hourly wage of $5.23 as of January 1, 2018.
Employees who are not paid the minimum wage may bring a civil action against the employer or
any person violating Florida's minimum wage law. The state attorney general
may also bring an
enforcement action to enforce the minimum wage. FLSA information and compliance
assistance can be found at:
https://www.dol.gov/whd/flsa/
.
Florida Statutes require employers who must pay their employees the Florida minimum wage to
post a minimum wage notice in a conspicuous and accessible place in each establishment
where these employees work. This poster requirement is in addition to the federal requirement
to post a notice of the federal minimum wage. Florida's minimum wage poster is available for
downloading in English, Spanish, and Creole from the Florida Department of Economic
Opportunity’s
website at:
http://www.floridajobs.org
.
The federal poster can be downloaded from the U.S. Department of Labor's website at:
https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/flsa.htm
.
Go to the Department of Economic Opportunity’s
Bureau of Labor Market Statistics
http://www.floridajobs.org/labor-market-information