Florida employers, get ready: Voters pass minimum wage increase to $15 by 2026
On November 3, Florida voters approved Amendment 2 to the state constitution, gradually raising the state’s minimum wage to $15 by 2026. The ballot measure needed 60 percent support to pass and narrowly cleared the threshold by winning approximately 60.8 percent of the votes cast. Florida becomes the first state in the South (and the eighth overall) to vote “yes” to the eventual $15 wage.
How quickly state’s minimum wage will go up
Amendment 2 will boost Florida’s minimum wage in phases from $8.56 in 2020 to the $15 mark in 2026. Here is when the new rates will take effect:
- $10 on September 30, 2021;
- $11 on September 30, 2022;
- $12 on September 30, 2023;
- $13 on September 30, 2024;
- $14 on September 30, 2025; and
- $15 on September 30, 2026.
Beginning on September 30, 2027, an annual adjustment to the state minimum wage will be based on increases to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) or a successor index as calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).
Where things stand now
Employers will in fact be subject to two minimum wage increases in 2021. Effective January 1, 2021, the state’s minimum wage will rise from $8.56 to $8.65 per hour