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Minimum wage hike likely in May

Lawmakers struggle with rules to enforce the higher wage 300,000 Floridians can expect to see starting May 2.

By STEVE BOUSQUET
Published January 27, 2005

TALLAHASSEE - Florida's lowest-paid workers can likely expect a raise in May, but lawmakers on Wednesday clashed over whether a plan to carry out the higher wage favors workers or employers.

Voters in November added to the state Constitution a $1-an-hour increase in the minimum wage, to $6.15 an hour, plus a yearly cost-of-living increase. The issue before state legislators is whether to pass a law setting ground rules for how the higher wage should be enforced, or do nothing and let the courts resolve disputes.

What appears not to be in dispute is that the effective date of the higher hourly wage for an estimated 300,000 Florida workers will likely be May 2, a Monday, six months after the election in which the amendment was approved by voters.

Lawmakers said the amendment's language was unclear as to the precise date the higher wage would take effect.

On Wednesday, the lawyer-dominated House Judiciary Committee discussed a proposal by its chairman, Rep. David Simmons, R-Longwood, that set a May 2 date for employers to start paying the higher wage. The proposal uses as a consumer price index model the inflation rate for the southern United States, not the higher rate for the entire country.

Simmons' bill also would require a worker to tell an employer, in writing, of alleged violations of the wage law and give the employer 15 calendar days to pay back wages. And it would add a provision not specified in the amendment: a "good faith" clause that limits the damages an employer must pay if it can convince a court that not paying the higher wages was "in good faith and that the employer had reasonable grounds to believe" the action was not illegal.

But one key senator said Wednesday he saw no immediate need for the Legislature to pass a bill.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Daniel Webster, R-Winter Garden, said Wednesday it took him eight years to abolish the state Department of Labor, and he's reluctant to pass a bill that could usher in a new labor bureaucracy.

"My thought is to hold off until I'm convinced we ought to move forward," Webster said.

Simmons, a lawyer whose firm represents private companies, called his proposal "a first stab" and "a fair compromise." But several lawmakers from both parties, all of them lawyers, found flaws in his effort.

Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, asked how lawmakers could tack on an employer-friendly "good faith" provision that wasn't in the original amendment. "I can't imagine we could do that," he said.

Another lawmaker said he was most concerned with small businesses being exposed to costly lawsuits. Rep. Fred Brummer, R-Apopka, suggested a mass mailing by the state to employers to inform them of the higher wage. "I realize that's going to eliminate a lot of lawsuits, but I think it's good for the economy," Brummer said.

Ron Meyer, a lawyer specializing in employment law, expressed skepticism over whether lawmakers were considering weakening the voters' intent when they adopted Amendment 5 in November. He said Simmons' proposal omits a key provision in the amendment, which seeks to protect workers from retaliation for complaining about not being paid the lawful wage.

Steve Birtman of the National Federation of Independent Business, one of several business groups that tried to defeat the minimum-wage increase, warned lawmakers that many employers won't be aware of the wage hike unless the state pays for a high-profile public-awareness campaign.

"Changing the minimum wage and not telling anyone is a huge public relations disaster waiting to happen," Birtman said. He suggested the state send letters to employers, advising them of the change before it takes effect.

In the audience during Wednesday's committee meeting were eight members of ACORN, an advocacy group for low-income citizens that led the petition drive to put the minimum wage on the ballot.

"We worked very hard for Amendment 5. We just want to make sure it goes through with no problems," said ACORN member Alice Laguerre, a $6-an-hour worker from Orlando.

[Last modified January 27, 2005, 00:40:21]