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First off: agricultural workers have a different standard, and a different wage structure. Second - employees who receive tips as part of their job also have a different standard, and a different wage structure. They are the "exceptions" to the rule. The rule is changing. As far as I know, the exceptions are not changing.
Next: minimum wage is not currently $9, to whoever said it was. It's $8.56. It will remain $8.56 until NEXT September, at which point it goes up a whopping $1.46, to $10/hour. As some others have said, most major companies already pay $10/hour, or more, or very close to it as their starting wage. So anyone who's been paid less, will get an increase. Anyone who's being paid $10, will probably get an increase next year anyway, because most employers give yearly increases.
Next: the self-serve and self-checkout stuff. Someone has to make those things. They don't just show up ready to use. Someone has to write and print the manuals. Someone has to be available for trouble-shooting, repair and maintenance and software updates. Surprisingly, said no one ever, those someones are all employees. Who get hired. To do things. And get paid.
Yes they get paid more than minimum wage. But here's a fun thing about those self-serve aisles at the supermarket. There is always at least one dedicated front end person, whose primary job is to assist all those customers whose coupons aren't fitting in the coupon slot, or who rang up an item that's costing more than it cost on the shelf, or whose credit card isn't working, or whose $10 bill is being rejected by the cash-in slot. That person will be getting at least $10/hour now, instead of at least $8.56. Well not now - in September. Almost a year from now.
When you were kids, minimum wage was only 35 cents, and you walked uphill in both directions with no shoes in 20 feet of snow to get to school. And now, you have to have a car to get to school. And a loaf of bread can cost over $2, even for the cheap unhealthy crap, which contributes to bad health, that means you spend more days out sick with no pay because minimum wage jobs don't get paid days off in Florida...
The rest of the country gets guaranteed sick time, not much but - an hour earned for every 40 hours worked. The rest of the country says employers can't schedule employees for fewer than 4 hours in a shift. Florida employers can force you to come to work for an hour, and then send you right back home again. If you're desperate enough to keep your lousy job in the hopes that you might get a 20 hour workweek the next week, you'll drive that 1-hour round trip and work that 1-hour shift. Or they'll replace you.
There are no Florida labor laws for adults, only for minors. Employees have zero protection. And I'm not even talking about unions. I'm not pro-union. I'm pro-treating-people-like-humans.
A liveable minimum wage is the LEAST this state can do for its lowest-paid employees. $10/hour is not even a liveable wage. But it's a start.
Was this restaurant hiring locals to work there? Or was it strictly owned and operated by the owners themselves (like many Chinese restaurants, for instance) where every single cent of profit went directly to their pockets?
The average small business owner is not going to be able to afford to increase all staff wages by some ~$7/hr ($15,000/year) without undergoing some drastic changes. Most small business owners are not wealthy, and this money is going to have to cut directly into their personal finances.
Australia's minimum wage is near $20 ASD... Which is a little over $12USD. It's the highest in the world.
The current minimum wage is $8.56/hour in Florida. The "average small business owner" is paying that, whether via a mix of tips and wages, or wages alone (for cashiers, dishwashers, hosts, etc) who don't rely on tips. The minimum wage will be increasing to $10/hour. That's not increasing "all staff wages by some ~$7/hour. It's increasing it $1.44/hour. Most of those small business employees are NOT full time employees. They get no health benefits, no sick time, no overtime pay (since they don't work full time), no holiday pay, no vacation time, no life insurance, no 401k. They are not entitled to even take breaks in Florida. It's not a requirement, because Florida has no labor laws of its own, other than for minors and agricultural workers. Employers in Florida have nothing to lose with this setup. They pay a modest payroll tax which basically covers workers' compensation and unemployment insurance, and that's about it.
The average small business owner in the rest of the country has tons of expenses toward employee benefits, most mandated by the states they do business in, and many driven by the market (why work for minimum wage and no benefits when next door is hiring at a $2/hour increase to start with paid holidays off?). Other than the COVID causing closures due to people staying home or dying, small businesses are doing pretty well in the rest of the country.
If they can't do pretty well in Florida, then there's something wrong with Florida. Not with minimum wage.
The market is only effective at setting wages in a natural environment, Florida is far form natural. Wealth outside thes state drives up the price of housing, insurances, and cost of living. Floridians cannot compete. Then add to the fact that the state does little to saturate the market with skilled labor, opting to promote low skilled service jobs. Now you have workers living in poverty, relying on public assistance, resorting to foregoing necessities or crime out of desperation to survive. It ends up costing everyone more in the end doing nothing.
Is going $8.75 to $15 an hour the answer, probably not but the business owners and elected officials crying about it are mostly the biggest offenders. They had multiple oppprtunities to do the right thing, now they have to live with the sweeping consequences of a Union Style of Labor movement.
The current minimum wage is $8.56/hour in Florida. The "average small business owner" is paying that, whether via a mix of tips and wages, or wages alone (for cashiers, dishwashers, hosts, etc) who don't rely on tips. The minimum wage will be increasing to $10/hour. That's not increasing "all staff wages by some ~$7/hour. It's increasing it $1.44/hour. Most of those small business employees are NOT full time employees. They get no health benefits, no sick time, no overtime pay (since they don't work full time), no holiday pay, no vacation time, no life insurance, no 401k. They are not entitled to even take breaks in Florida. It's not a requirement, because Florida has no labor laws of its own, other than for minors and agricultural workers. Employers in Florida have nothing to lose with this setup. They pay a modest payroll tax which basically covers workers' compensation and unemployment insurance, and that's about it.
The average small business owner in the rest of the country has tons of expenses toward employee benefits, most mandated by the states they do business in, and many driven by the market (why work for minimum wage and no benefits when next door is hiring at a $2/hour increase to start with paid holidays off?). Other than the COVID causing closures due to people staying home or dying, small businesses are doing pretty well in the rest of the country.
If they can't do pretty well in Florida, then there's something wrong with Florida. Not with minimum wage.
In a 6 year span, yes, it's ~$7/hr. The average employee currently working at a, say again, lube shop, will not be working there in 5 years. He'll likely have moved onto bigger and better things. He was never expected to get yearly raises to eventually reach $15/hr by working there. (By the way, yearly raises typically range from 2.5-5% of one's salary. 5% of $10/hr is $0.50.
It's the kid coming out of high school that will be starting at a whooping $15/hr, at the added expense of the business owner. Again, how is this owner going to afford that added $75k payroll expense, for a business that rakes in a profit of maybe $80k/year?
As a poster above mentioned, too, a statewide increase of this amount is insane. In South Florida, sure, earning $15/hr isn't much. In Perry, FL, $15/hr is quite a handsome wage for someone working in fast food.
I havent seen the legislation's exact language, but I cannot believe that tipped and commissioned employees will receive $15 and hour from employers. Their earning and taxing structure is completely different.
Currently as it stands, Wait staff are getting seriously shorted, they are usually taxed on their sales and not the exact tips they earn, additionally they often have to tip out Bussers, Expo, and sometimes Dishwashers. Last few years of bartending I tracked earnings between 45 to 50K, but was taxed on 60 to 70K. Tipping out 10% of ysans-serifecery shift adds up. Now that those workers will be earning more, tipped employees will be able to keep more or all their wages.
many businesses will go under, big corporations will get a larger marketshare, and consolidation will happen in all industries.
Inflation will come in a wild way too.
I may just sell my stake in a couple of small businesses I own, instead of dealing with this.
What do you mean by you not thinking this will last? Will it repealed? how? That would be nice, but I just dont see it happening
You are 100% correct. Mom & pops will suffer, big biz will automate. If we keep going down this path, we will have very few companies left...Amazon, Wal Mart, McDonalds, Starbucks, hair/nail salons, gas/electric stations...and they will be highly automated.
Economic consolidation is bad. It crushes competition. What do you think Amazon & WalMart will do to pricing when everyone else has been crushed?
You are 100% correct. Mom & pops will suffer, big biz will automate. If we keep going down this path, we will have very few companies left...Amazon, Wal Mart, McDonalds, Starbucks, hair/nail salons, gas/electric stations...and they will be highly automated.
Economic consolidation is bad. It crushes competition. What do you think Amazon & WalMart will do to pricing when everyone else has been crushed?
You are right about this. People voted for this based on emotions but they fail to recognize the consequences. Many voters feel it isn't fair for people to make such low wages yet the result of this law will be far worse than what the voters were expecting. People need to read up on the Law of Unintended Consequences. I'm not sure the masses should be voting on an issue like this.
The market is only effective at setting wages in a natural environment, Florida is far form natural. Wealth outside thes state drives up the price of housing, insurances, and cost of living. Floridians cannot compete. Then add to the fact that the state does little to saturate the market with skilled labor, opting to promote low skilled service jobs. Now you have workers living in poverty, relying on public assistance, resorting to foregoing necessities or crime out of desperation to survive. It ends up costing everyone more in the end doing nothing.
As I've argued repeatedly, at some point one or more climate change catalysts, most likely initially a major hurricane strike causing hundreds of millions if not a trillion plus in damages, will reduce wealth-based migration to Florida, likely at some point creating a net outward climate change migration. As noted earlier in this thread, a major recession/depression also would eviscerate the Florida economy, perhaps even worse than this COVID-19 epidemic. Economically unwarranted minimum wages also will weigh on the Florida economy; however, inflation may offset the impact of the new minimum wage requirement, IF there is no adjustment for inflation (I haven't researched the provisions of the minimum wage requirements).
Those of us who lived through the 1970s stagflation remember the devastating impact on securities values. Consider a prevalence of double digit yields and overt repugnance associated with equity markets, all an alternative universe opposite today's investment environment. What would be the impact on the Florida economy?
How much will higher wage costs raise the cost of vacationing in Florida? What will be the demand response?
Bottom line, how will Florida finance its state and local governments in this fiscal year let alone subsequent fiscal years, absent massive federal aid? This is an issue throughout the U.S., but perhaps more profound in Florida given the nature of its economy and the absence of income taxes.
In future years, take away the tax haven, add in disappearing beaches, greater atmospheric heat and humidity, and punishing insurance costs, what will attract wealth to Florida? Don't forget the Florida Constitutional amendment passed in 2018 that makes ANY tax or fee increases extraordinarily difficult to pass the Florida legislature.
How will Florida survive without an income tax? Perhaps a topic for a different thread. I would love to read cogent explanations.
KEY QUESTION NOT YET DISCUSSED: Is Florida's new minimum wage requirement adjusted annually for inflation?
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