Florida's minimum wage jumps to $15 an hour on Wednesday, Sept. 30, the final $1 increase under a 2020 constitutional amendment.

The bump from $14 means a full-time worker earning the minimum will make about $40 more a week before taxes, or roughly $2,080 a year, according to Sebastian Daily. For small businesses in Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay, the increase lands on top of already rising operating costs.

Tipped employees see a separate change.

Their base cash wage rises from $10.98 to $11.98 an hour, with employers taking a $3.02 tip credit toward the $15 floor, according to a compliance alert from the law firm Lowndes.

Voter-approved amendment set the path to $15

Florida voters passed Amendment 2 on Nov. 3, 2020, with 60.8% support. Orlando attorney John Morgan spearheaded the measure, which set the wage at $10 an hour starting Sept. 30, 2021, and added $1 each Sept. 30 after that. The state's minimum wage was $8.56 in 2020, so the floor has nearly doubled in six years.

Florida law bars cities and counties from setting their own private-sector wage rates. Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay cannot adjust the number locally.

Employers must update posters and tip notices

Businesses must update the required Florida minimum wage poster before Sept. 30. Employers of tipped workers must also provide updated tip credit notices, according to the Lowndes alert.

Samantha Padgett, vice president of government relations and general counsel for the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, told Fox 13 that restaurants are weighing difficult trade-offs. "When their costs go up, they have to constantly make adjustments," Padgett said. "Can we afford bring that person in? Do we have to look at automation? ..."

The pressure is familiar to Cutler Bay business owners already squeezed by other expenses. Xavier Miranda, who runs Top Florida Roofing in Cutler Bay, told WPLG Local 10 on Sept. 14 that rising energy costs compound the challenge. He said costs get passed to customers, some of whom are tightening their own budgets, which in turn reduces sales.

According to a Miami-Dade County report citing Florida International University's Metropolitan Center, 96% of businesses in the region have 49 employees or fewer. That means most local employers absorb wage increases without the bulk purchasing power or margin cushions larger companies enjoy.

Inflation-based adjustments begin in 2028

The $15 rate holds through 2027. The state will calculate the first inflation-based adjustment on Sept. 30, 2027, using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. That new rate takes effect Jan. 1, 2028.

The federal minimum wage remains $7.25 an hour, unchanged since July 2009. If Congress raises the federal floor above Florida's rate, the higher number would apply.