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- Florida’s current rate follows a voter-approved schedule
- The 2020 rate belongs to a historical period
- Tipped employees have a separate cash-wage calculation
- Coverage draws on federal definitions
- “Minimum salary” is not one universal Florida number
- Hours and deductions affect the effective hourly rate
- Florida provides notice and enforcement rules
- Why the date and legal layer both matter
- Sources
Key Facts
- Florida state level: Florida’s minimum wage is $14.00 per hour through September 29, 2026, and rises to $15.00 on September 30, 2026.
- Florida state level: The direct cash wage for an eligible tipped employee is $10.98 through September 29, 2026, because Florida permits a maximum $3.02 tip credit.
- Florida state level: Florida’s constitutional minimum wage applies to covered employees for all hours worked in Florida and uses federal FLSA definitions of employer, employee, and wage.
- Florida state level: The 2020 Florida minimum wage was $8.56 per hour; that historical rate does not describe current work.
- Federal and Florida state: A salary does not automatically remove minimum-wage or overtime protection; an exemption must satisfy the applicable pay and duties tests.
- Florida state level: Florida law authorizes back wages, an equal amount as liquidated damages, and other relief for a proven state minimum-wage violation, subject to statutory procedures and defenses.
The minimum wage in Florida is $14.00 per hour as of August 2026. A scheduled constitutional increase takes it to $15.00 on September 30, 2026. Those dates matter: a rate that is correct for one pay period can be wrong for a later one.
Florida’s current rate follows a voter-approved schedule
Article X, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution establishes the state’s wage floor. It raised the rate to $10.00 on September 30, 2021, then required a $1.00 increase each September 30 until the rate reaches $15.00 in 2026. Annual inflation adjustments begin under the constitutional formula after that scheduled phase-in.
Florida’s rate is higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25. When both laws cover the work, the higher Florida rate controls the minimum payment. Our federal minimum wage guide explains the national baseline separately.
The 2020 rate belongs to a historical period
Florida’s minimum wage was $8.56 per hour in 2020, and the direct cash wage for eligible tipped employees was $5.54. Those figures can matter when reviewing pay for work performed during that calendar year, but they are not current rates.
The 2020 election also produced the constitutional amendment that created the later step increases. That event does not retroactively turn the 2020 rate into $10.00 or $15.00. Readers researching that closed period can use the dedicated Florida minimum wage in 2020 article, while this page remains the current-state guide.
Tipped employees have a separate cash-wage calculation
Florida permits an employer to claim a tip credit no larger than the federal tip credit allowed in 2003, which is $3.02 per hour. Subtracting that credit from the $14.00 state minimum produces a $10.98 direct cash wage through September 29, 2026. When the full state rate reaches $15.00, the corresponding direct cash wage becomes $11.98 if the tip-credit conditions are met.
The credit is conditional, not an independent lower minimum wage. Federal rules require advance notice, restrict who may keep or share tips, and require the employer to make up a shortfall when cash wages plus tips do not reach the full applicable minimum. The Florida tipped minimum wage guide addresses that narrower topic.
Coverage draws on federal definitions
Florida’s constitution uses the definitions of employer, employee, and wage found in the Fair Labor Standards Act and its implementing regulations. Florida Statutes Section 448.110 also directs courts to use federal law, regulations, and interpretations as guidance when applying the state provision.
This connection does not make Florida’s higher rate a federal rule. The Florida Constitution supplies the state wage amount and state remedy, while the FLSA supplies a separate federal floor and federal enforcement system. Particular exemptions and special certificates can affect coverage, so a job title alone does not establish whether the minimum-wage rule applies.
“Minimum salary” is not one universal Florida number
Minimum wage normally describes an hourly floor, even when an employee receives a salary. Dividing salary attributable to a workweek by compensable hours may be relevant to minimum-wage compliance, but salary status by itself does not establish an exemption.
For the federal executive, administrative, and professional exemptions, the restored federal regulations generally require at least $684 per week on a salary basis and require the employee’s actual duties to meet the relevant duties test. Some occupations use different rules or are not subject to that salary threshold. Florida does not turn every salaried employee above one annual figure into an exempt employee.
Hours and deductions affect the effective hourly rate
The constitutional rule covers all hours worked in Florida. Compensable time can include required work before or after a scheduled shift, and short rest periods are generally treated differently from bona fide meal periods under federal standards. A deduction for an employer’s benefit cannot reduce covered pay below the required minimum.
Overtime is a related but separate issue. The FLSA generally requires one and one-half times a nonexempt employee’s regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek. Paying the correct Florida minimum wage for straight-time hours does not by itself resolve an overtime calculation.
Florida provides notice and enforcement rules
Covered employers must display Florida’s minimum-wage notice in a conspicuous and accessible place. Florida’s implementing statute also prohibits retaliation for asserting rights protected by the state minimum-wage provision.
Before bringing a state civil action, an affected person must give the employer written notice identifying the minimum-wage claim and the amount alleged to be due. The statute gives the employer 15 calendar days after receipt to pay the amount or otherwise resolve the claim.
When a court finds a violation, Section 448.110 authorizes unpaid wages plus an equal amount as liquidated damages, along with reasonable attorney fees and costs for a prevailing employee. The court may reduce or deny liquidated damages if the employer proves the statutory good-faith defense. These state remedies are distinct from the procedures and remedies available under federal law.
Why the date and legal layer both matter
A useful Florida wage calculation begins with the rate in effect when the work occurred. It then asks whether the worker is covered, how many compensable hours were worked, whether a tip credit or exemption is valid, and whether overtime or deductions change the result. Keeping the historical, current, and federal layers separate prevents a familiar rate from being applied to the wrong period or legal question.
Sources
- Florida Constitution, Article X, Section 24
- Florida Statutes Section 448.110
- U.S. Department of Labor current tipped minimum wages by state
- U.S. Department of Labor 2020 tipped minimum wages by state
- U.S. Department of Labor state minimum wage laws
- U.S. Department of Labor salary-level guidance
- U.S. Department of Labor Fact Sheet 15: tipped employees
