by Lisa Berg
Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson, P.A.
The minimum wage in Florida is set to go up five cents to $8.10 an hour on January 1. The current hourly minimum wage is $8.05. The increase 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, 2016.
Restaurant and hotel employers that take a tip credit may still take a credit of up to $3.02 per hour against the new minimum wage, meaning tipped employees must receive direct wages of at least $5.08 per hour starting January 1.
The change in the minimum wage means employers will need to post a new state minimum wage poster by January 1. That’s in addition to the federal requirement to post a notice of the federal minimum wage. The state poster may be downloaded in English, Spanish, and Creole from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s website at www.floridajobs.org.
For more information on the new minimum wage, see the November issue of Florida Employment Law Letter.
Lisa Berg is an editor of Florida Employment Law Letter and attorney in the Miami, Florida, office of Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson, P.A. She can be reached at lberg@stearnsweaver.com.