Minimum-wage exception bill is a lifeline for small businesses
An op-ed by Tripp Scott's Paul Lopez and Jake Blumstein
On Nov. 3, 2020, Florida voters enacted an amendment to the Florida Constitution calling for the minimum wage to begin increasing by $1 per year starting on Sept. 30, 2021. As a result of that vote, Florida’s minimum wage is currently $14 an hour and will reach $15 an hour on Sept. 30, 2026, at which point it will change annually based on inflation.
As the minimum wage has increased, the barrier to entry for small, mom-and-pop shops has grown. A small cookie shop can’t afford one or two employees at $14 an hour. Local restaurants can’t afford to fill all positions. And yet, large chains like Chipotle and Crumbl Cookies are doing better than ever.
Crumbl has adapted to rising labor costs by bypassing cashiers with technology that allows customers to order and pay for their dessert on their own. The outcome of Florida’s minimum wage amendment is clear: More big brands and automation and fewer small businesses that need time to build product awareness but lack the war chest necessary for business development.
This issue was recently magnified for us during a recent conversation with a small business owner who invested his life savings into a cookie shop. He was manning the entire fort: managing the cash register, baking cookies, answering the phone and greeting patrons. Watching him go through all of these tasks, we asked him why he didn’t have any help. His answer was not surprising—he couldn’t afford it.
In recognition of this, the Florida Legislature revived a proposal that would let certain trainees and interns voluntarily earn below Florida’s constitutional minimum wage, with HB 221 clearing its second House Committee. Under HB 221, employees can opt out of receiving the state minimum wage for work studies, internships, pre-apprenticeship programs or other similar work-based learning opportunities.
While opponents argue it risks exploitation and undercuts workers already struggling with high living costs, the bill also clears a path for younger workers—who are not yet responsible for paying for their own costs of living—to gain valuable working experience under the tutelage of a willing mentor, while enabling small business owners to obtain affordable labor.
The bill defines “work-based learning opportunities” to ensure that such activities provide beneficial experience and training for the employee and clarifies the employee must be paid at or above the federal minimum wage while participating in the work-based learning opportunity. While there already exist federal regulations and jurisprudence allowing certain volunteer work and internship programs without pay, state law on the subject matter would provide clarity on this obscure and often-litigated issue.
As the Florida minimum wage constitutional amendment completes its journey to $15 an hour from just $8.65 an hour in 2021, the state Legislature should pass HB 221—with sufficient guardrails to prevent exploitation—to provide a framework for small businesses to hire young and low-skilled workers with the opportunity to gain valuable work experience.
