On September 30, 2026, Florida's minimum wage reached $15.00 per hour. That was the last fixed step in the schedule Florida voters wrote into the state constitution in 2020 — and if you still have a September payroll table or a 2025 poster on the wall, both are now wrong.
Everything in this article comes from two primary sources we have read in full: Article X, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution, and sections 448.109 and 448.110 of the 2026 Florida Statutes.
Quick facts
| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Current minimum wage | $15.00 per hour, from September 30, 2026 | Fla. Const. Art. X, § 24(c) |
| How it got here | $10.00 on Sept 30, 2021, then +$1.00 each September 30 through 2026 | Art. X, § 24(c) |
| What happens next | From 2027, an inflation-adjusted rate is calculated each September 30 and takes effect the following January 1 | Art. X, § 24(c) |
| Tipped employees | Tips may be credited "up to the amount of the allowable FLSA tip credit in 2003" | Art. X, § 24(c) |
| Poster | Required in a conspicuous, accessible place where covered employees work | Fla. Stat. § 448.109(2) |
| Retaliation | Prohibited for exercising minimum-wage rights | Art. X, § 24(d) |
The schedule, in the Constitution's own words
The amendment is unusually specific. It set $10.00 effective September 30, 2021, and then an increase of $1.00 "each September 30th thereafter... until the Minimum Wage reaches $15.00 per hour on September 30th, 2026." That date has now passed, so $15.00 is the floor statewide.
From here the mechanism changes. The Constitution directs the state to calculate an adjusted rate each September 30 "of 2027 and on each following September 30th," using CPI-W inflation over the prior twelve months — and each adjusted rate "shall be published and take effect on the following January 1st." Two planning consequences:
- $15.00 holds through all of 2027. The first inflation adjustment is calculated in September 2027 and takes effect January 1, 2028.
- The change date moves. Florida employers have updated payroll every September 30 for six years. Starting with the 2028 adjustment, the new-rate date is January 1. Calendar both dates for 2027: September 30 (when the new figure is announced) and January 1, 2028 (when it applies).
Tipped employees: use the formula, then verify the figure
For tipped employees who qualify for the federal tip credit, the Constitution lets employers credit tips toward the minimum wage — but only "up to the amount of the allowable FLSA tip credit in 2003." The credit is frozen at the 2003 federal level; it does not grow as the minimum wage grows. So each time the floor rises, the cash wage you must pay directly rises with it: cash wage = Florida minimum wage minus the 2003 credit.
We are deliberately not printing the dollar figure for the credit or the resulting cash wage here. The authoritative number appears on the annual poster published by FloridaCommerce (the Department of Commerce), and that is where you should take it from — not from a blog, ours included. Download the current poster, read the tipped figure off it, and update both payroll and the written tip-credit notices federal law requires before the credit is taken.
The poster duty
Section 448.109 requires every employer who must pay the Florida minimum wage to "prominently display" a poster "in a conspicuous and accessible place in each establishment" where covered employees work, and directs the Department of Commerce to publish it each year in English and in Spanish. A September 30 rate change means a poster change. If a walk through your locations finds last year's rate on the wall, that is the five-minute fix to make today.
One oddity worth knowing: the poster template written into section 448.109(3) still describes a rate recalculated each September 30 that "takes effect" each January 1 — wording from before the 2020 amendment rewrote the schedule. The Constitution controls. Until the 2028 adjustment, the operative dates are the ones in Article X, Section 24, and the agency's published poster reflects the current rate.
Retaliation
The amendment itself prohibits retaliation: it is "unlawful for an Employer or any other party to discriminate in any manner or take adverse action" against a person for exercising rights under it, including filing a complaint or informing others of their rights. If your handbook's anti-retaliation policy lists protected activities, wage complaints belong on the list.
The checklist
- Confirm every Florida employee is at $15.00 or above for hours worked from September 30, 2026.
- Pull the tipped cash-wage figure from the current FloridaCommerce poster; update payroll and written tip-credit notices.
- Replace the minimum-wage poster at every Florida establishment.
- Budget 2027 labor at $15.00; calendar September 30, 2027 (announcement) and January 1, 2028 (first adjusted rate).
- Check the handbook: wage policy, tipped-employee policy, anti-retaliation list.
Sources
- Florida Constitution, Article X, Section 24 ("Florida minimum wage"), flsenate.gov, accessed October 12, 2026 (primary; read in full).
- Florida Statutes (2026), §§ 448.109, 448.110, flsenate.gov, accessed October 12, 2026 (primary; read in full).
This article explains public law and how our tools handle it. It is not legal advice and has not been reviewed by an attorney.