Florida State Senator Jeff Brandes (R) proposed an amendment to the state constitution that would exclude criminals and others from receiving the minimum wage increase approved by Florida last year.
The amendment proposed on Wednesday would leave prisoners, those convicted of a crime, those under 21 and employees “difficult to hire” outside the minimum wage increase and would give them a “reduced minimum wage”, Click Orlando reported on Thursday.
Florida voters in November passed an amendment that would raise the minimum wage to $ 15 an hour by 2026. The state’s minimum wage will increase to $ 10 in September and increase one dollar each year until 2026.
The amendment proposed by Brandes does not say what the “reduced minimum wage” would be or who would fall into the category of “difficult to hire” workers.
If the legislature passes the amendment in March, it will vote for the people of Florida to vote in 2022. If 60 percent of citizens vote to approve the amendment, it will be added to the Florida constitution.
It is not clear how many people the proposal would affect, but the increase in the minimum wage will affect 2.5 million workers in the state.
Click Orlando reported that there are 1.5 million residents in Florida with convictions for serious crimes.
A $ 15 minimum wage is also being sought at the federal level, but opponents say it would overwhelm small businesses that are already struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.