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Workers being paid the minimum wage can expect to see a six-cent bump in their hourly pay come June 1st after a judge ruled that Florida was violating its own constitution by not raising the rate for 2011. That may not seem like a lot, but it does add up to $124.80 a year for workers putting in 40 hours a week.
As per Florida’s constitution, the minimum wage rate is tied to rises in cost of living. Though, the rate is never supposed to be lowered during deflationary periods. Well, some one didn’t notice that clause and lowered it anyway down to the federal minimum wage of $7.25 back in 2009.
In 2010, though, cost of living grew, but the rate wasn’t raised because, according to the formula the state uses, the rate wouldn’t be higher than the federal minimum wage.
Because the state mistakenly lowered the rate in 2009, they also thought the federal wage would trump their calculations for 2011. Though, one restaurant worker and three farm workers sued, claiming that the minimum wage should have never been lowered in the first place and should have risen accordingly.
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According to the Huffington Post, a Florida judge has not ruled that the rate will now be $7.31. The minimum wage for tipped workers will also increase by six cents to $4.29.
Though, workers shouldn’t expect to get the approximately $52 they lost because of the miscalculated wage for the first six months of the year.
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