Florida Senate - 2022                                    SJR 382
       
       
        
       By Senator Brandes
       
       
       
       
       
       24-00445A-22                                           2022382__
    1                       Senate Joint Resolution                     
    2         A joint resolution proposing an amendment to Section
    3         24 of Article X of the State Constitution to authorize
    4         the Legislature to establish a minimum training wage
    5         rate lower than the Florida minimum wage rate which
    6         employers may elect to pay employees for the first 6
    7         months of employment.
    8          
    9  Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   10  
   11         That the following amendment to Section 24 of Article X of
   12  the State Constitution is agreed to and shall be submitted to
   13  the electors of this state for approval or rejection at the next
   14  general election or at an earlier special election specifically
   15  authorized by law for that purpose:
   16                              ARTICLE X                            
   17                            MISCELLANEOUS                          
   18         SECTION 24. Florida minimum wage.—
   19         (a) PUBLIC POLICY. All working Floridians are entitled to
   20  be paid a minimum wage that is sufficient to provide a decent
   21  and healthy life for them and their families, that protects
   22  their employers from unfair low-wage competition, and that does
   23  not force them to rely on taxpayer-funded public services in
   24  order to avoid economic hardship.
   25         (b) DEFINITIONS. As used in this amendment, the terms
   26  “Employer,” “Employee” and “Wage” shall have the meanings
   27  established under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
   28  and its implementing regulations.
   29         (c) MINIMUM WAGE. Employers shall pay Employees Wages no
   30  less than the Minimum Wage for all hours worked in Florida. Six
   31  months after enactment, the Minimum Wage shall be established at
   32  an hourly rate of $6.15. Effective September 30th, 2021, the
   33  existing state Minimum Wage shall increase to $10.00 per hour,
   34  and then increase each September 30th thereafter by $1.00 per
   35  hour, until the Minimum Wage reaches $15.00 per hour on
   36  September 30th, 2026. On September 30th of 2027 and on each
   37  following September 30th, the state Agency for Workforce
   38  Innovation shall calculate an adjusted Minimum Wage rate by
   39  increasing the current Minimum Wage rate by the rate of
   40  inflation during the twelve months prior to each September 1st
   41  using the consumer price index for urban wage earners and
   42  clerical workers, CPI-W, or a successor index as calculated by
   43  the United States Department of Labor. Each adjusted Minimum
   44  Wage rate calculated shall be published and take effect on the
   45  following January 1st. For tipped Employees meeting eligibility
   46  requirements for the tip credit under the FLSA, Employers may
   47  credit towards satisfaction of the Minimum Wage tips up to the
   48  amount of the allowable FLSA tip credit in 2003.
   49         (d) RETALIATION PROHIBITED. It shall be unlawful for an
   50  Employer or any other party to discriminate in any manner or
   51  take adverse action against any person in retaliation for
   52  exercising rights protected under this amendment. Rights
   53  protected under this amendment include, but are not limited to,
   54  the right to file a complaint or inform any person about any
   55  party’s alleged noncompliance with this amendment, and the right
   56  to inform any person of his or her potential rights under this
   57  amendment and to assist him or her in asserting such rights.
   58         (e) ENFORCEMENT. Persons aggrieved by a violation of this
   59  amendment may bring a civil action in a court of competent
   60  jurisdiction against an Employer or person violating this
   61  amendment and, upon prevailing, shall recover the full amount of
   62  any back wages unlawfully withheld plus the same amount as
   63  liquidated damages, and shall be awarded reasonable attorney’s
   64  fees and costs. In addition, they shall be entitled to such
   65  legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the
   66  violation including, without limitation, reinstatement in
   67  employment and/or injunctive relief. Any Employer or other
   68  person found liable for willfully violating this amendment shall
   69  also be subject to a fine payable to the state in the amount of
   70  $1000.00 for each violation. The state attorney general or other
   71  official designated by the state legislature may also bring a
   72  civil action to enforce this amendment. Actions to enforce this
   73  amendment shall be subject to a statute of limitations of four
   74  years or, in the case of willful violations, five years. Such
   75  actions may be brought as a class action pursuant to Rule 1.220
   76  of the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure.
   77         (f) ADDITIONAL LEGISLATION, IMPLEMENTATION AND
   78  CONSTRUCTION. Implementing legislation is not required in order
   79  to enforce this amendment. The state legislature may by statute
   80  establish additional remedies or fines for violations of this
   81  amendment, raise the applicable Minimum Wage rate, reduce the
   82  tip credit, or extend coverage of the Minimum Wage to employers
   83  or employees not covered by this amendment. The state
   84  legislature may also establish a Minimum Training Wage rate less
   85  than the Minimum Wage rate. The Minimum Training Wage rate must
   86  be based on a federal temporary training wage rate, if any, or
   87  on the findings of a study commissioned every three years by the
   88  state legislature to determine a sufficient Minimum Training
   89  Wage rate. Once established, an employer may elect to pay an
   90  employee at the Minimum Training Wage rate, but a new employee
   91  may not be paid at the Minimum Training Wage rate for a period
   92  greater than six months after his or her date of hire. The state
   93  legislature may by statute or the state Agency for Workforce
   94  Innovation may by regulation adopt any measures appropriate for
   95  the implementation of this amendment. This amendment provides
   96  for payment of a minimum wage and shall not be construed to
   97  preempt or otherwise limit the authority of the state
   98  legislature or any other public body to adopt or enforce any
   99  other law, regulation, requirement, policy or standard that
  100  provides for payment of higher or supplemental wages or
  101  benefits, or that extends such protections to employers or
  102  employees not covered by this amendment. It is intended that
  103  case law, administrative interpretations, and other guiding
  104  standards developed under the federal FLSA shall guide the
  105  construction of this amendment and any implementing statutes or
  106  regulations.
  107         (g) SEVERABILITY. If any part of this amendment, or the
  108  application of this amendment to any person or circumstance, is
  109  held invalid, the remainder of this amendment, including the
  110  application of such part to other persons or circumstances,
  111  shall not be affected by such a holding and shall continue in
  112  full force and effect. To this end, the parts of this amendment
  113  are severable.
  114         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following statement be
  115  placed on the ballot:
  116                      CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT                     
  117                        ARTICLE X, SECTION 24                      
  118         GRANTING THE LEGISLATURE AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH A MINIMUM
  119  TRAINING WAGE RATE.—Proposing an amendment to the State
  120  Constitution to grant the Legislature authority to establish a
  121  minimum training wage rate, less than the minimum wage rate,
  122  which may be paid to employees during their first 6 months of
  123  employment with a given employer. If the rate is established,
  124  employers may elect to pay the minimum training wage rate to new
  125  employees.