FL Minimum Wage To Increase In 2026

Florida employees can expect a boost to their paychecks as an increase to the state’s minimum wage is coming in the fall of 2026.

In 2020, Florida residents voted to approve Amendment 2, which called for the gradual increase of the state’s minimum wage until it reaches $15 an hour, which will happen next year, according to a 2023 memo from the Florida Department of Commerce.

The federal minimum wage has been set at $7.25 an hour since 2009.

This Florida constitutional amendment was spearheaded by Orlando lawyer John Morgan, NBC6 Miami reported.

Since its passage, the state's minimum wage has been adjusted annually by $1, the most recent on Sept. 30, when it jumped from $13 to $14 an hour.

The first minimum wage increase under this new law came Sept. 30, 2021, when it increased to $10 an hour.

It’s set to increase again to $15 an hour on Sept. 30, 2026. This will be the final minimum wage increase in compliance with Amendment 2’s passage.

"This is a very good time for those increases, because the time has also coincided with a period where inflation may have become some issue, and now these increases, in one way or another, have helped moderate the impact," Dr. Robinso Reyes Peña, assistant teaching professor at Florida International University, told NBC6.

The minimum wage for tipped employees also increases by $1 each year under the constitutional amendment. As of Sept. 30, eligible tipped workers receive a minimum hourly cash wage rate of $10.98, according to the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association.

Florida employers are permitted to take a tip credit of up to $3.02 per hour for tipped employees, the association said. This credit may apply toward meeting their tipped workers’ minimum wage.

Employees who are not paid the minimum wage may bring a civil action against the employer or any person violating Florida's minimum wage law, the Florida Commerce memo said.

Resuming in 2027, the state’s minimum wage will be adjusted annually for inflation, the agency added.

"Inflation is going to be measured using the CPI-W, which is an index that actually tracks the basket of needs for workers and clerical staff, so what is the basket of needs that the lay person usually needs? What are those expenditures? This is tackling that, making sure that their income is enough to tackle those basic needs," Reyes Peña said.