John Willoughby: Greene Publishing, Inc.
The last time Florida's minimum wage went up was on Jan. 1, when workers started getting paid $8.10 per hour. Before that, on Jan. 1, 2015, Florida raised the minimum wage up from $7.93 to $8.05 per hour.
Now, on Jan. 1, 2018, expect your check to be a little more. Florida will be raising the minimum wage, once again, up to $8.25; a $0.15 increase. Minimum wage for employees who are tipped is also increasing from $5.08 to $5.23 per hour.
In 2005, Florida enacted their state minimum wage, when Florida businesses were legally bound to pay their employees at a minimum wage of $6.15, instead of the Federal minimum wage of $5.15. Florida kept raising their minimum wage until 2011, when the Federal minimum wage caught up with Florida, paying $7.31 per hour.
The raise comes after rising tensions from citizens calling for $15 per hour minimum wage since the beginning of 2017.