A supporter of Florida’s Amendment 2 at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa, Florida on Oct. 29, 2020. Credit: Photo by Dave Decker

A proposal (HB 841) that would allow employees earn less than the minimum wage for work-study, internships, pre-apprenticeship programs, or “other similar work-based learning opportunities” advanced Monday in its final committee in the Florida House and will now go the floor for a vote.

The bill says that the employee’s decision to opt-out must be voluntary and that an employer cannot coerce an employee to do so or condition an offer of employment on his or her decision. The minimum wage in Florida is $13 an hour.

That dollar figure comes via a 2020 constitutional amendment that calls for raising the state’s minimum wage by $1 every year until it reaches $15 per hour in September 2026.

“An unintended consequence of Florida’s constitutional minimum wage is that it cripples an employer’s ability to provide more opportunities for unskilled workers in areas of pre-apprenticeship and education,” said Ocala Republican Rep. Ryan Chamberlain in describing his bill. “This is having an impact on our young people and those seeking retraining in other, more profitable fields of work.”

The bill says that an employee’s waiver is only valid for 12 months after the start of employment. And it says that such work-based learning opportunities may not last more than 9 months or two full-time semesters consisting of at least 15 credit hours each.

North Florida Democratic Rep. Franklin Gallop asked Chamberlain what could ensure that an employee wasn’t being pressured or coerced into “voluntarily” agreeing to work for a lower than minimum wage?

Chamberlain said it would be illegal to coerce someone “in that manner.” However, the proposal does not say who would be the arbiter, or what penalties could incur for such coercion.

The measure is supported by the business community.

“It’s a new avenue to find more qualified workers,” said Tim Nungesser, legislative director for the Florida office of the National Federation of Independent Business. “The bill is limited. The bill is voluntary. If a worker doesn’t want to participate, they don’t have to.”

‘More ways to pay less’

Paul Cox, an Orlando stagehand, said the bill asks Floridians to waive their constitutional rights to a minimum wage.

“Florida does not need more ways to pay less. Especially when a supermajority of voters passed this amendment in 2020. It needs stronger protections. Better enforcement. Better support for recognized apprenticeships and a commitment to economic fairness. Job training is valuable, but it should not come at the expense of eroding wage rights for all Floridians.”

South Florida Democratic Rep. Felicia Robinson said that in the current economic climate, “I cannot see someone working for less than the minimum wage. Period.”

The federal minimum wage is set at $7.25 an hour, a figure that hasn’t moved since 2009. The minimum wage in Florida for tipped employees is $9.98 an hour. The federal minimum for tipped workers is $2.12.

The bill passed mostly along party lines in the GOP-controlled House Commerce Committee, 14-6.

The companion bill in the Senate (SB 676), filed by Lee County Republican Jonathan Martin, has one more stop in the Rules Committee before reaching the floor of that chamber.

Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.

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