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CCH® PAYROLL — 10/24/13

Florida minimum wage to increase to $7.93 in 2014

The minimum wage in Florida will increase to $7.93 per hour effective January 1, 2014.

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, 2013.

The increase for 2014 reflects a change of 1.7 percent or 14 cents, based on the percentage change in the CPI-W (August 2012 to August 2013) times the 2013 Florida Minimum Wage Rate of $7.79 per hour. The change is then added to the 2013 Florida Minimum Wage Rate. This calculation is as follows: (226.119-222.250)/222.250 = .01741 .01741 x $7.79 = 0.14 cents ($7.79 + 0.14 cents) = $7.93

Since the calculated 2014 Florida minimum wage of $7.93 per hour exceeds the federal minimum wage rate of $7.25 per hour, the state minimum wage prevails.v

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). Employers of tipped employees, who meet eligibility requirements for the tip credit under the FLSA, may count tips actually received as wages under the Florida minimum wage. However, the employer must pay tipped employees a direct wage. The direct wage is calculated as equal to the minimum wage ($7.93) minus the 2003 tip credit ($3.02), or a direct hourly wage of $4.91 as of January 1, 2014.

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: http://www.dol.gov/dol/compliance/comp-flsa.htm.

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 and Spanish from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s website at: http://www.floridajobs.org. (Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, 2014 Minimum Wage Announcement, October 15, 2013, http://www.floridajobs.org/minimumwage/Announcement_2014.pdf; 2014 Minimum Wage Calculation, http://www.floridajobs.org/minimumwage/MinimumWageCalculation_2014.pdf; Florida Minimum Wage History, 2000 to 2014, http://www.floridajobs.org/minimumwage/FloridaMinimumWageHistory2000-2014.pdf; 2014 Florida Minimum Wage Poster (English), http://www.floridajobs.org/minimumwage/Poster-FL_MinWage2014.pdf; 2014 Florida Minimum Wage Poster (Spanish), http://www.floridajobs.org/minimumwage/Poster-FL_MinWage2014(S).pdf.)

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