Florida Voters give minimum-wage workers a pay hike
Thursday, November 4, 2004 at 04:15AM
TheSpook
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]

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