Florida’s minimum wage is $14 and will soon be a dollar more.
But Florida lawmakers want some employees to make less, even though voters placed minimum wage requirements in the state Constitution in 2020.
A bill moving through the Capitol, HB 221, would allow employers to pay interns and those in similar programs like work-studies and pre-apprenticeships a lower amount. It passed its second of three assigned House committees on Wednesday.
“An unintended consequence of Florida's constitutional minimum wage is that it cripples an employer's ability to provide more opportunities for unskilled workers in the areas of apprenticeship and education,” said Belleview Republican Rep. Ryan Chamberlin, the bill sponsor, on Wednesday.
He said it would prompt the creation of more work-based learning opportunities.
Such workers would still have to make at least the federal minimum wage, which is set at $7.25 an hour. An employee would have to opt out of the state-mandated amount by signing a voluntary waiver.
“There would need to be a value outside of the pay and a reason to do that,” Chamberlin said. “These opportunities are meant to accelerate somebody's pay by giving them quality experience for their resume that they otherwise would not be able to get.”
The bill says an employer can’t “coerce” someone into the agreement. If someone is less than 18 years old, a parent or guardian would have to also sign.
The lower-paid internship or similar program wouldn’t be allowed to last more than 252 days. For those younger than 18, the program couldn’t last more than 126 days.
The legislation passed through the Wednesday committee with all Democrats voting “no.”
Rep. Ashley Gantt, D-Miami, questioned whether the state could even implement the bill, given the state’s minimum wage constitutional amendment. She also worried about employers exploiting the system.
“If there's a situation where they are desperate for a job, and the employer says, ‘Well, you have to sign this waiver, or we're just going to go to somebody else.’ We're putting them in a position where they are going to sign it for less money,” she said.
Shayne Tremblay, a Jacksonville electrician, said he’s making a competitive wage, but he’s worried this bill might change that.
“It's dependent on what wages other people are making in my industry,” Tremblay said during the Wednesday meeting's public comment period. “If this bill were to pass, I can see contractors using it as a way to drive down their labor costs, which will drive down my wage.”
Similar legislation passed through all of its assigned House committees last year but didn’t get a final vote on the chamber floor.
The Senate version of the bill, SB 1412, hasn’t budged yet.
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This story was produced by WUSF as part of a statewide journalism initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
