$15 minimum wage is here, but it’s not a livable’ wage, group says

Florida's minimum wage rises to $15 an hour Wednesday for about 1.29 million nontipped workers, the final step of the Amendment 2 phase-in voters approved in 2020, with tipped workers reaching $11.98. The Florida Policy Institute estimates a true living wage statewide runs from $19.57 an hour for a single adult to $34.10 for two adults with one child.

FPI's Alexis Tsoukalas noted many Floridians, including those in multi-earner households, will still struggle to make ends meet, and urged stronger enforcement against wage theft alongside the new wage. Tampa clothing-and-salon co-owner Kristine Ownley, who backed the 2020 measure, said it's the owner's job to make a business profitable, not the employees' job to accept less.

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