Florida Minimum Wage Increase Proposed In The House

August 30, 2015

A House Democrat filed a bill Friday that calls for increasing the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour. The bill (HB 109), filed by Rep. Victor Torres, D-Orlando, will be considered during the 2016 legislative session and mirrors a bill (SB 6) filed last month by Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami. Previous proposals to increase the minimum wage have not moved forward in the Legislature. The state’s minimum wage, which gradually increases each year, hit $8.05 in January.

by The News Service of Florida

Comments

19 Responses to “Florida Minimum Wage Increase Proposed In The House”

  1. David Huie Green on August 31st, 2015 9:22 pm

    Those who wish to be paid high wages should pay high wages. If you discover you do not have enough money to pay everybody high wages, ask where others will get enough to pay tens, hundreds, thousands or even millions those amounts.

  2. Sheldon on August 31st, 2015 10:14 am

    Yes i think this is great. I do back breaking manual labor for $9.00 an hour. I have a family to feed and this just is enough. I served my country for eight years and was pushed out of the military due to budget cuts and this is what I came out to.

  3. JD on August 31st, 2015 9:27 am

    I have a question for the people that are for this. You say it’s about time that the playing field is level, we need a living wage, etc. Is the job that you are doing really worth $15 an hour? So let’s say I have a education and a degree and currently make $20 an hour doing a job that requires education, training, etc., you raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour which is twice what it is now. Do you think you should be making that close to what I am flipping burgers or checking someone out at Walmart? Please give me a break. If they double the minimum wage they should very well double mine to $40 an hour! It’s isn’t about what you think you deserve etc. It is about what your job and your skill set is actually worth!

  4. chris in Molino on August 31st, 2015 3:39 am

    @Broke “nanager”—What govt entity do you work for ? I too was a manager for govt contractor at a local base. We hired laborers @ $14.56 and they could all spell much better than you.
    At any rate, this wage hike, never gonna happen. Those who don’t want to convince themselves to believe it already know. It’s an election trick. Much like Obama’s attempt at solidifying Alaska’s democrats and indies. What foolish person believes small businesses wouldn’t shut down or those who could afford to stay open lay off and cut hours ? Hopefully (if you work at McDonald’s) you flip burgers better than two of the other four.

  5. Richie on August 31st, 2015 2:31 am

    Employer’s will just hire people on salary and do away with hourly employee’s and then work you 16 hours per day making your hourly wage $7.50 per hour or even less depending on how many days they make you work. That also means employer’s will cut out employee’s because they are working their new found salary employee’s more hours. Been on the salary end of a job and it was like working for free. This will be the loop hole employer’s will use to make them richer and us poorer and dead from being overworked.

  6. TJ on August 30th, 2015 11:54 pm

    If the raise minimum wage to $15 then a hamburger at McDonalds goes from $1.29 to $3.29. How about a big mac going for $6 and a meal going for $15??? So now what use to cost you $6 for a meal will be 2 1/2 times more to pay for that raise. And those same people will still want to keep there free rent, cable, cell phone and food stamps. Then other businesses wont be able to pay there employees who were making $12-15 now would have to double that to keep up with the rise of service and pay. What about the sheriffs office? There’s no way the voters would support a tax increases to pay all deputies $25-30 an hour. I know several deputies who after 15yrs only make $17-18 an hour. Once again the DEMOCRATS are trying to support a bill that will close hundreds of business and put hundreds of thousands on the unemployment line with this type of raise.

  7. Kathy on August 30th, 2015 10:42 pm

    I’m loving it!!!

  8. Jeff on August 30th, 2015 9:24 pm

    So you work at Walmart or any other major retailer and make 9 bucks an hour. You work 40 hours a week and you qualify for welfare. So all the tax payers are supporting walmart , Exxon, target ,ect. If you work a full time job you should be able to support yourself with out being on government assistance.

  9. Broke nanager on August 30th, 2015 6:21 pm

    As a manager for government contractor, I have obit been making just $12 an hour with no raise in 4 years, YES my reviews are excellent, but the company I am stuck does not give raises, ,so YES, the ultra conservative supports this bill.

  10. bob on August 30th, 2015 4:11 pm

    Stupid idea it just goes to show y’all you can’t fix stupid

  11. Denise on August 30th, 2015 1:26 pm

    Wow! What is this world coming to? I earned my masters degree which took extra years of college and borrowing student loans, that I still owe just to make 17 a hour. I agree with the ones that say minimum wage jobs are stepping stones. If you want to make more money go work hard at getting an education. I know it’s hard in a single mother and struggle too but if it passes the message it sends is higher education means nothing. I already struggle when I see people in professional atmospheres and can’t spell right.

  12. David S on August 30th, 2015 12:15 pm

    For every action there is a reaction. It may come in the form of less jobs because the business owners income isn’t magically going to increase to support higher wages. Some may say business owners can take less profit to make up the difference, perhaps some can. Let us not forget the risk all lies with the owner not the employee. So, if this wage increase goes through, don’t be surprised if you see unemployment increase along with the lucky few who get to benefit from the wage increase. Momma always said” you have to give to get”.

  13. Danny on August 30th, 2015 12:05 pm

    People deserve a livable wage so I fully support this bill.

  14. Brett on August 30th, 2015 10:42 am

    Yea, awesome! Now all the small businesses will either have to lay people off or go out of buisness, thats awesome! Wait, no that sucks.

  15. Kris on August 30th, 2015 9:37 am

    What a stupid idea. This a trick to get uneducated voters to vote for the left. Hey dummies, have you happened to notice that everytime minimum wage goes up jobs are lost and the cost of all goods ans services goes up?
    No one is forced to work a minimum wage job…they choose to work there. It was also not meant to be a “livable” wage, but a stepping stone job for teens to get into the work force and begin developing skills. McDonald’s is not a career, therfore you dont deserve even close to $15

  16. Hard worker on August 30th, 2015 8:39 am

    Well if that happens I will quite my hard working job and go work at a McDonald’s, or other mindless job. A lot of people worked really hard to finally make that much, and they want to give it to everybody? This will not help! The people who try to live off the government will ask for fewer hours so they will not lose their food stamps. What really should happen is quite just giving everybody everything, tons of food stamps, free cell phones, housing, and no telling what else. This makes people dependent on the government.

  17. Tim on August 30th, 2015 8:15 am

    I think it is about time this finally happens. As a single father it’s hard enough and this will level the playing field a little. The only reason employers pay you minimum wage is because they cannot pay you less.

  18. Jenifer on August 30th, 2015 7:54 am

    Yessss! Please let this pass! I’m tired of working two jobs and still being broke.

  19. Mike on August 30th, 2015 6:59 am

    $15, wow. And some states have NO minimum wage.