Florida Amendment 2 Terms: Wage Schedule, Tipped Pay, Coverage

Florida’s minimum wage is $14.00 per hour and will rise to $15.00 per hour on September 30, 2026, the last of the fixed annual increases written into the state constitution by Amendment 2 in November 2020. After that, the rate adjusts each year based on inflation. Tipped employees have a lower cash wage floor because employers can credit up to $3.02 per hour in tips toward the minimum.

The Scheduled Increases Through 2026

Article X, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution sets specific dates and dollar amounts rather than leaving the rate to the legislature. Each increase takes effect on September 30.¹

September 30, 2021: $10.00
September 30, 2022: $11.00
September 30, 2023: $12.00
September 30, 2024: $13.00
September 30, 2025: $14.00
September 30, 2026: $15.00

The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 per hour since 2009.² When a state rate is higher, workers are entitled to the higher amount, so Florida’s rate is the one that controls for every employer operating in the state.

What Happens After September 30, 2026

Once the $15.00 rate takes effect, the fixed-dollar increases stop. On September 30, 2027, and every September 30 after that, the state will calculate a new rate using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) over the prior 12 months. The adjusted rate takes effect the following January 1.¹

The Department of Commerce and the Department of Revenue jointly publish the adjusted rate on their websites by October 15 each year.³ The CPI-W formula can only hold the rate steady or raise it. If prices fall, the wage stays where it is rather than dropping.

Minimum Wage for Tipped Employees

Florida’s tip credit is frozen at $3.02 per hour, the FLSA tip credit amount from 2003. That number does not change as the minimum wage goes up.¹⁴

To find the minimum cash wage for a tipped worker, subtract $3.02 from the current state minimum. At the $14.00 rate, the cash wage floor is $10.98. When the state rate reaches $15.00 on September 30, 2026, the cash floor becomes $11.98. If an employee’s cash wages plus actual tips in a pay period don’t reach the full minimum wage, the employer must make up the difference.

Only employees who regularly receive more than $30 per month in tips qualify as tipped employees under the FLSA. Managers and supervisors cannot keep any portion of other employees’ tips from a tip pool, tip jar, or any shared collection. A manager who personally serves a customer can keep tips from that direct service, but may not take from pooled tips that include other workers’ earnings.⁵

Who Is Covered

The amendment borrows its definitions of employer, employee, and wage from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Coverage is broad: full-time, part-time, hourly, and salaried employees who don’t fall under a white-collar exemption all qualify. State and local government offices must pay at least the state minimum wage.⁶

The amendment does not cover independent contractors. If you’re paid on a 1099 basis and genuinely run your own business, state minimum wage law does not apply to you. Bona fide volunteers performing services for charitable or public purposes without expecting pay are also outside the law. Misclassification is common, though, and an employer can’t avoid the minimum wage simply by labeling a worker as a contractor when the actual working relationship looks like employment.

Federal exemptions can also take a worker outside minimum wage coverage. The white-collar exemptions for executive, administrative, and professional roles currently require a salary of at least $684 per week along with qualifying duties. Workers who meet both the salary and duties tests are exempt from minimum wage and overtime rules regardless of Florida’s rate.

What to Do If You’ve Been Underpaid

Start with documentation. Save every pay stub showing your hourly rate and hours worked during the disputed periods. Personal time logs, digital schedules, and screenshots of shift assignments help if the employer’s records are incomplete. Keep copies of any emails or texts you’ve sent to management about the pay discrepancy.

Send a Written Notice First

Before you can sue, you must send the employer a written notice stating your intent to bring a claim. The notice has to identify the minimum wage you’re owed, the actual or estimated dates and hours you worked, and the total dollar amount of unpaid wages through the date of the notice. No official form exists; a letter containing that information satisfies the statute. The employer then has 15 calendar days after receiving the notice to pay the full amount or otherwise resolve the claim.³

Sending the letter by certified mail with a return receipt gives you proof of the delivery date, which starts the 15-day clock.

Filing a Lawsuit

If the employer doesn’t pay within the 15 days, you can file a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction. A successful claim recovers the full amount of unpaid back wages plus an equal amount in liquidated damages, effectively doubling what you’re owed. The court also awards reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.³

There is one exception to the double-damages rule. If the employer proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the violation was made in good faith and with reasonable grounds for believing the pay was lawful, the court can reduce or eliminate the liquidated damages. Punitive damages are not available under the amendment.

Retaliation Is Prohibited

The amendment makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against or take adverse action against anyone for exercising their minimum wage rights. Protected activity includes filing a complaint about noncompliance, telling anyone about an employer’s potential violations, and helping another person assert their rights.¹

Federal law adds a second layer. Under 29 U.S.C. § 215(a)(3), it is illegal to fire or discriminate against an employee for filing a wage complaint, participating in a wage-and-hour proceeding, or preparing to testify. That protection covers oral complaints and extends to workers whose employment has ended.⁷ Federal remedies include reinstatement, lost wages, and liquidated damages equal to the lost wages.⁸

How Long You Have to File

The Florida statute of limitations for minimum wage claims follows the general time periods in Florida Statute 95.11, measured from the date of the violation.³ Under the federal FLSA, the deadline is two years from the date the wages should have been paid, or three years if the violation was willful.⁹

Each underpaid paycheck is a separate violation with its own clock, so waiting doesn’t erase your whole claim. Older pay periods do drop off as their individual deadlines expire, though, so the longer you wait, the less you can recover.

Employer Posting Requirement

Florida Statute 448.109 requires every employer to prominently display a minimum wage poster in a conspicuous, accessible location where covered employees work. The Department of Commerce publishes the poster each year by December 1 in English and Spanish. It must be at least 8.5 by 11 inches, with the first line about the current wage rate in bold and larger than the surrounding text. The poster also summarizes retaliation protections and explains how workers can bring a claim for unpaid wages.⁶

1
Florida Senate. The Florida Constitution
2
U.S. Department of Labor. Wages and the Fair Labor Standards Act
3
Florida Senate. Florida Code 448.110 – State Minimum Wage, Annual Wage Adjustment, Enforcement
4
U.S. Department of Labor. Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees
5
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 15B – Managers and Supervisors Under the FLSA and Tips
6
Florida Senate. Florida Code 448.109 – Notification of the State Minimum Wage
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 215 – Prohibited Acts
8
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 77A – Prohibiting Retaliation Under the FLSA
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 255 – Statute of Limitations