Florida Voters give minimum-wage workers a pay hike

Thousands of Floridians who earn minimum wage will get bigger paychecks because voters overwhelmingly approved a $1 raise in the wage, from $5.15 to $6.15, on Tuesday. "This is really a huge victory for Florida's working families," said Meghan Scott, communications director for Floridians For All, the group that sponsored the measure. "Once people heard what Amendment 5 was and what it would do for Florida's working poor, people really got it." Employers must start paying the new wages six months from now or face double damages for unpaid wages, attorney's fees and fines by state regulators. Proponents of the $1 minimum-wage bump say 300,000 workers will benefit from the bigger paychecks and an additional 550,000 workers will benefit from "ripple-effect" wage increases. That's because the wage will be adjusted every September by the rate of inflation. Opponents of the higher wage, which include Gov. Jeb Bush and business groups, argued that raising the wage would cost tens of thousands of Floridians their jobs, health-care coverage and retirement benefits. [more]

• The last increase in the federal minimum wage, from $4.25 an hour to $5.15, came during the Clinton administration in 1997. Twelve other states have minimum wages higher than the federal level, led by Alaska at $7.15 per hour.
  
• Studies have found no link between wage boosts and significant job losses among the other states that have bumped up the minimum wage. Analysts project that in Florida, the impact on consumers will be slight.
  
• A full-time worker who is being paid the current minimum wage earns $10,712 a year, and is living at a level that is 28 percent below the 2003 federal poverty threshold for a family of three. A study funded by a group supporting the higher minimum wage, the Center for American Progress, found the total estimated cost to Florida employers would be $443 million, of which $406 million would be borne by private business.