Florida Senate - 2022                                    SB 1124
       
       
        
       By Senator Gruters
       
       
       
       
       
       23-00841-22                                           20221124__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to preemption of local government wage
    3         mandates; amending s. 218.077, F.S.; providing a short
    4         title; providing legislative findings and
    5         declarations; revising and defining terms; revising
    6         prohibitions relating to political subdivisions
    7         enacting, maintaining, or enforcing wage mandates in
    8         an amount greater than the state minimum wage rate;
    9         revising construction and applicability; providing an
   10         effective date.
   11          
   12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   13  
   14         Section 1. Section 218.077, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   15  read:
   16         (Substantial rewording of section. See
   17         s. 218.077, F.S., for present text.)
   18         218.077 Wage Mandate Preemption Act.—
   19         (1) This section may be cited as the “Wage Mandate
   20  Preemption Act.”
   21         (2) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
   22  following:
   23         (a) That economic stability and growth are among the most
   24  important factors affecting the general welfare of the residents
   25  of this state and are among the most important matters for which
   26  the Legislature is responsible.
   27         (b) That mandated wage rates comprise a major cost
   28  component for private enterprises and are among the chief
   29  factors affecting the economic stability and growth of this
   30  state.
   31         (c) That prevailing wage laws increase the costs of
   32  government and business and diminish the number of jobs
   33  generated by the economy.
   34         (d) That local variations in mandated wage rates threaten
   35  many businesses with a loss of employees to areas that require
   36  higher mandated wage rates, threaten many other businesses with
   37  the loss of patrons to areas that allow lower mandated wage
   38  rates, and are detrimental to the business environment of this
   39  state, to local labor markets, and to the citizens, businesses,
   40  and governments of the political subdivisions of this state.
   41         (e) That in order for businesses to remain competitive
   42  while attracting and retaining the highest possible caliber of
   43  employees, private enterprises in this state must be allowed to
   44  function in a uniform environment with respect to mandated wage
   45  rates.
   46         (f) That legislated wage disparity between political
   47  subdivisions of this state creates an anticompetitive
   48  marketplace that fosters job and business relocation.
   49         (g) That prevailing wage laws are most harmful to the
   50  young, to minorities, and to other new or potential entrants to
   51  the workplace.
   52         (h) That prohibiting and repealing prevailing wage laws
   53  will increase the efficiency of public investments, reduce the
   54  cost of government, and eliminate government’s preferential
   55  treatment.
   56         (3) For the purposes of this section, the term:
   57         (a) “Employ” has the same meaning as established under the
   58  federal Fair Labor Standards Act and its implementing
   59  regulations.
   60         (b) “Employee” means any individual employed by an
   61  employer.
   62         (c) “Employer” means any person who employs employees. The
   63  term includes, but is not limited to, any person acting directly
   64  or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an
   65  employee and includes a public agency other than the government
   66  of the United States, as well as employers that have contracts
   67  or subcontracts with a political subdivision or that have
   68  received tax abatements, loan guarantees, or other financial
   69  assistance from a political subdivision.
   70         (d) “Political subdivision” includes, but is not limited
   71  to, any municipality, city, county, village, school district,
   72  special purpose district, or local government of this state.
   73         (e) “Wage mandate” means any requirement enacted by a
   74  political subdivision which requires an employer to pay any or
   75  all of its employees a wage rate not otherwise required under
   76  state or federal law.
   77         (4) Except as provided in subsection (5), a political
   78  subdivision may not enact, maintain, or enforce by charter,
   79  ordinance, purchase agreement, contract, regulation, rule, or
   80  resolution, either directly or indirectly, a wage mandate in an
   81  amount greater than the state minimum wage rate calculated
   82  pursuant to s. 24, Art. X of the State Constitution. Any wage
   83  mandate that conflicts with this subsection is void.
   84         (5) Subsection (4) does not:
   85         (a) Prohibit a political subdivision from enacting,
   86  maintaining, or enforcing through a collective bargaining
   87  agreement or other means a minimum wage requirement governing
   88  compensation paid by the political subdivision to employees of
   89  the political subdivision.
   90         (b) Apply to a collective bargaining agreement negotiated
   91  between a political subdivision and the bargaining
   92  representative of the employees of the political subdivision.
   93         (c) Limit, restrict, or expand a prevailing wage required
   94  under state law.
   95         (d) Apply if federal law requires the payment of a
   96  prevailing or minimum wage to persons working on projects funded
   97  in whole or in part by federal funds.
   98         Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.