Florida bill would slash minimum wage for tipped workers

Minimum wage for tipped workers in Florida is currently $4.65/hour.

The State wants to lower that to the federal minimum wage of $2.13/hour.

A forty hour shift would see a decrease of around $100.00 !!!!!!!

And would of course decrease the withholding taxes sent in to federal/State/Local revenue agencies.

Some oppositions say that Women make up around 3/4 of the tipped workers.

At one time, the tipped minimum wage was set at 1/2 the regular minimum wage.

A Florida Senate committee has followed the advice of a restaurant association and passed a bill that would cut the minimum wage for tipped workers by more than half.

The bill, SB 2106, would slash the current Florida tipped minimum wage of of $4.65 an hour to the federal standard of of $2.13 an hour, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Restaurants would have to promise that employees would make at least $9.98 an hour with tips to qualify for the new wage.

“We are being brave and bold and being statesmen and not politicians,” Republican state Sen. Nancy Detert, the committee’s chair, asserted, adding that the bill had been requested by the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association.

Associated Industries of Florida and the Florida Chamber of Commerce have also expressed support for the bill.

Business Must Be Bad - in more ways than one !


Any Lobbyists involved here ??

Why I love the USA

Well while that sucks...I look at it like this..anyone who that affects it should give them the motivation they need to do something else.I know it sure as hell would motivate me.I'm not saying it's fair but I don't feel bad for them.I know someone has to do it but if I was looking at a pay cut like that it'd force me to rethink what I was doing with my life.And before anyone jumps on me with the 'well they work hard! they should be paid more!' thing...my mother was a waitress for 20 years while I was growing up.Brought home $80 a night in tips alone per night.We got by just fine.When the state decided they'd have to give more to the busboys or whatever,she got out.She's now a nurse.So it can be done.

Originally posted by nightstalker78
Well while that sucks...I look at it like this..anyone who that affects it should give them the motivation they need to do something else.I know it sure as hell would motivate me.I'm not saying it's fair but I don't feel bad for them.I know someone has to do it but if I was looking at a pay cut like that it'd force me to rethink what I was doing with my life.And before anyone jumps on me with the 'well they work hard! they should be paid more!' thing...my mother was a waitress for 20 years while I was growing up.Brought home $80 a night in tips alone per night.We got by just fine.When the state decided they'd have to give more to the busboys or whatever,she got out.She's now a nurse.So it can be done.

edit on 18-2-2012 by nightstalker78 because: (no reason given)

edit on 18-2-2012 by nightstalker78 because: (no reason given)

Motivate them to do something else?! Serving tables is about the only job left that pays decent and doesn't require a masters degree. Speaking of which, a good half of the people serving your table have a bachelors and many have a masters.

Serving tables is a hard job and it's a profession. It's not something you need to be "motivated" to graduate from.

Originally posted by cuervo

Originally posted by nightstalker78
Well while that sucks...I look at it like this..anyone who that affects it should give them the motivation they need to do something else.I know it sure as hell would motivate me.I'm not saying it's fair but I don't feel bad for them.I know someone has to do it but if I was looking at a pay cut like that it'd force me to rethink what I was doing with my life.And before anyone jumps on me with the 'well they work hard! they should be paid more!' thing...my mother was a waitress for 20 years while I was growing up.Brought home $80 a night in tips alone per night.We got by just fine.When the state decided they'd have to give more to the busboys or whatever,she got out.She's now a nurse.So it can be done.

edit on 18-2-2012 by nightstalker78 because: (no reason given)

edit on 18-2-2012 by nightstalker78 because: (no reason given)

Motivate them to do something else?! Serving tables is about the only job left that pays decent and doesn't require a masters degree. Speaking of which, a good half of the people serving your table have a bachelors and many have a masters.

Serving tables is a hard job and it's a profession. It's not something you need to be "motivated" to graduate from.

Oh please.And for every server that has a bachelors or masters degree as you claim,there's 5 more that don't.So don't give me that.I've known and still do know quite a few people who do that for a living.And guess what?Not a one has any kind of degree other then a high school diploma.While it may be a hard job as you say,if I was being paid $4.00 an hour to do ANY job you better believe I'd find something else.Degree or not.If I'm not mistaken Mcdonalds pays better....

The real culprits here are restaurant owners who don't want to pay a decent wage. I worked as a waitress for 35 years and I'v had bosses try to confiscate my tips, charge me for mistakes, by taking it out of my tips and just be jealous that I made tips, believing I didn't deserve them. Tip envy!

But is this law going to effect golf caddies or bellmen? How about limo drivers, hairdressers, massage folk?