South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Senate resolution would limit $15 an hour minimum wage
A state Senate Republican has filed a proposal that could lead to young people, felons, prisoners and other “hard-tohire” employees making less than the $15 an hour minimum wage approved by Florida voters in November.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, unveiled a Senate resolution Wednesday that would modify the $15 wage amendment to allow the Legislature to set a reduced pay rate for workers under age 21, those convicted of felonies, for state prisoners and for “other hardto-hire employees.”
In an interview Thursday, Brandes said the change would allow the Legislature to help struggling workers find employment.
“The goal here is to create an extra rung of the ladder for them,’’ he said, using a “training wage” that would phase out after the worker gets some experience on the job.
But the resolution drew immediate fire from Orlando attorney John Morgan, who largely bankrolled the citizens initiative for the $15 wage. His amendment increases the minimum wage to $10 an hour on Sept. 30 with annual increases until it reaches $15 on Sept. 30, 2026.
“This proposed resolution is a patently unconstitutional attempt to undermine the will of the voters, who resoundingly voted to ensure all of Florida’s low-wage workers are paid enough to live and work with dignity,” Morgan said in a statement Thursday. “If the legislature continues to subvert the will of the people with this naked attempt to replace working families with child labor, I will sue the state. And I will win — again.”
Brandes said, however, said the measure is “absolutely constitutional” and that the training wage would only be used in limited circumstances for teenagers, ex-felons and others who traditionally can’t find employment.
As a possible example of how it could work, he said the initial lower pay could be set for a specific number of hours or days on the job before it went higher.
The proposal (SJR 854) is filed for consideration during the legislative session that will start March 2. If passed, it would need the approval of 60% of the voters on the 2022 fall ballot because it would change the state Constitution.
Resolutions approved by the Legislature go straight on the ballot and do not require petitions or undergo the same Supreme Court review required of citizens’ initiatives.