TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida House and Senate on Tuesday continued moving forward with a proposal that would provide an exemption to the state’s voter-approved minimum wage for certain workers in on-the-job training.
The Republican-controlled House Careers & Workforce Subcommittee voted 12-4 along party lines to support a measure (HB 541) that would allow pay below the minimum wage for employees involved in a “work-study, internship, pre-apprenticeship or other similar work-based learning opportunity.”
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The Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee later Tuesday approved a similar bill (SB 676).
The House version would allow people to be paid below the minimum wage for only 12 months. The bills say the exemption would apply if an employee “opts out” of receiving the minimum wage.
House bill sponsor Ryan Chamberlin, R-Belleview, said the current minimum wage law “cripples” employers' abilities to provide training and affects young people seeking work experience.
“The answer to why people would choose this is if they see value outside of the pay,” Chamberlin said. “They see an opportunity to gain some experience that they otherwise would not be able to gain that would further them and even jump them hopefully way past minimum wage at some point in the future.”
Employers in Florida are allowed to pay sub-minimum wages to certain workers, such as people ages 19 and younger during the first 90 days of employment and to students working part-time in vocational training programs.
If the proposal passes, Florida AFL-CIO lobbyist Rich Templin told the House committee that employers would take advantage of redefining job descriptions.
“You literally would be allowing business owners to make all of their employees an intern or a work-study or what have you, and anybody that wants to work there would have to sign this (minimum wage) waiver,” Templin said. “Remember, in any given community there are only so many jobs. So, if business owners get together and say, ‘Let’s set up these internships,’ you’re not going to be able to find a job unless you work for less than the minimum wage.”
But Rep. Mike Caruso, R-Delray Beach, said people opting for the lower pay would want to learn skills.
“It’s not open to the McDonald’s of the world, as I see it,” Caruso said. “And we still have the baseline of the federal minimum wage. So they won’t be working for nothing.”
A 2020 state constitutional amendment required gradual increases in Florida’s minimum wage. It is $13 an hour now, will increase to $14 an hour on Sept. 30 and will go to $15 an hour on Sept. 30, 2026. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.
For tipped employees, the state’s minimum wage is $9.98 an hour. The federal minimum for tipped employees is $2.13 an hour.
Tim Nungesser, legislative director for the National Federation of Independent Business in Florida, said the legislative proposal is intended to help small businesses find qualified workers.
“States are looking for ways to get more skilled workers, and one of the ways that we can do that is with this voluntary program,” Nungesser said.
Each proposal needs approval from one more committee before going to the full House and Senate.