An appellate court has denied Miami Beach's latest effort to establish a mandatory minimum wage for employees in that city.
Earlier this year, Miami Beach's minimum wage law, which was intended to raise the mandatory citywide wage to $13.31 by 2021, was struck down by a Miami-Dade circuit court judge who ruled that the ordinance was preempted by state law. The city appealed, and the appellate court affirmed the lower court's ruling yesterday.
Miami Beach's attorneys argued that the Florida constitutional amendment establishing a state minimum wage does not preclude local governments from passing ordinances to establish a higher minimum wage for their respective jurisdictions. Both the circuit court and appellate courts disagreed. The Miami Beach city attorney said that the city will immediately seek review by the Florida Supreme Court.
Florida's minimum wage is currently $8.10 and will increase to $8.25 on January 1, 2018. The state minimum wage increases (or stays flat) every year effective January 1st based on the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for the South region.
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