GOP Lawmakers OK Minimum Wage Change

By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida

Republican lawmakers are trying to revive an effort to create an exemption to the state’s voter-approved minimum wage that would apply to workers classified as trainees.

The GOP-controlled House Industries & Professional Activities Subcommittee on Wednesday voted 11-6 along party lines to approve a measure (HB 221) that would allow people to waive their rights to the minimum wage if they are in a work-study, internship or pre-apprenticeship program.

Supporters said the state’s minimum wage, which will increase to $15 an hour in September, limits entry-level jobs.

“It cripples an employer’s ability to provide more opportunities for unskilled workers in areas of apprenticeship and education,” bill sponsor Ryan Chamberlin, R-Belleview, said.

When he filed the bill, Chamberlin wrote that the minimum wage “has become a weight on Florida’s economy and a hindrance to workers seeking to improve their personal finances.”

“Wage controls are always enacted with good intentions but lead to a decrease in opportunities,” Chamberlin wrote. “We must seek alternative options like career development and continued education to ensure workers are receiving the skills needed to compete in today’s economy.”

Democrats derided the proposal as providing businesses with cheap labor.

Rep. Angie Nixon, D-Jacksonville, said the bill isn’t about creating opportunities for people, but “getting corrupt corporations and greedy billionaires richer.”

Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, said people are struggling, and $15 an hour, which would total about $31,200 a year, “is not even enough anymore.”

“I understand that there is an ideological opposition to the minimum wage in this body, I get that,” Eskamani said. “But at the end of the day, the free market is not going to always operate in the best interest of the consumer, let alone the best interest of the worker, it operates in the best interest of the profit. And profit doesn’t always keep in consideration worker’s health benefits or safety.”

Rep. Bruce Antone, D-Orlando, said the concept of the bill is good, but it’s not practical today.

“Affordability is just a huge issue across this entire country, and I don’t know that folks can afford to get the experience they might need to get them to a much higher income level,” Antone said.

A 2020 Florida constitutional amendment required gradual increases in the minimum wage. It is $14 an hour and will go to $15 an hour on Sept. 30. For tipped employees, the state’s minimum wage is $10.98 an hour.

Employers in Florida are allowed to pay sub-minimum wages to certain workers, such as people ages 19 and younger during the first 90 days of employment and to students working part-time in vocational training programs.

The bill wouldn’t allow employers to go below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.

Rep. Judson Sapp, a Green Cove Springs Republican and the CEO of a railroad construction company, said the bill has more guardrails than he’d have proposed, noting that “if there are no opportunities, companies are going to stop giving it.”

“Not only is it our job to make money as a company, it is also our job to look after our employees, to make a payroll,” Sapp said.

Under Chamberlin’s proposal, which was revised Wednesday, the “work-based” opportunities couldn’t last longer than 252 days or two semesters for people earning school or college credits. People 18 and younger couldn’t accept pay under the minimum wage for longer than 126 days or one semester when earning school credit.

“This just creates a scenario for those that are desiring to enter into a specific kind of career and there’s an opportunity for them to get some real strong mentorship, some leadership, and maybe even more beneficial to them than paying $25,000, $50,000 or $100,000 for a year of college,” Chamberlin said.

A similar measure by Chamberlin cleared three House panels during the 2025 session but was not heard on the House floor. A Senate version did not get through the Rules Committee. Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers, has filed the Senate version (SB 1412) for this year’s session.