Updated Minimum Wage and Reemployment Assistance Program notices will soon be featured on our Florida poster. Keep reading to find out all the details.
Minimum Wage
Florida’s minimum wage rate is recalculated every year on September 30, based on the Consumer Price Index. Effective January 1, 2020:
- The minimum wage will increase to $8.56 per hour.
- For tipped employees, the minimum wage will increase to $5.54 per hour, plus tips.
Retaliation against employees for exercising their rights to receive the new minimum wage is prohibited under the Florida State Constitution, and any employer found liable for an intentional violation will be charged a $1,000 fine per violation.
Employers should note that while the 2020 Minimum Wage notice is now available, the 2019 notice must be posted through December 31, 2019.
Reemployment Assistance Program
Florida’s Unemployment Compensation Program has been renamed the Reemployment Assistance Program. In addition to the name change, the updated Reemployment Assistance Program notice features new requirements for employees.
To be eligible for reemployment assistance benefits, employees must now:
- Apply for benefits online at https://connect.myflorida.com.
- Register for work online at employflorida.com.
- Have a history of sufficient employment and wages.
Employees who have been discharged from a job for misconduct connected to the work may be disqualified from receiving benefits and be subject to a penalty period that remains in effect until the employee has earned a certain amount of wages during new employment.
For questions related to reemployment assistance benefits, employees may now contact the Department of Economic Opportunity/Division of Workforce Services/Reemployment Assistance Program at the new phone number (1-800-204-2418) provided on the notice.
The Reemployment Assistance Program notice also includes a new website for job seekers in Florida.
What’s on the Horizon for the Sunshine State?
An initiative to increase Florida’s minimum wage to $15.00 per hour by September 30, 2026 has made progress and is expected to appear on the November 3, 2020 ballot.
Compliance Made Easy!
If you have not already done so, we encourage you to order our 1-Year Compliance Plan so that you will automatically receive the updated Florida poster as soon as it is available. And because we provide free poster updates for mandatory changes, no matter how many occur during the 12-month period, you can always count on Poster Compliance Center to keep your business in compliance!