House panel advances bill to pay interns and apprentices less than minimum wage

Should employers be allowed to pay interns and apprentices below minimum wage?

The House Industries & Professional Activities Subcommittee thinks so. The panel advanced a bill (HB 541) with a 10-5 vote as the Republican sponsor, Rep. Ryan Chamberlin, argued his proposal gives more opportunities to young people breaking into ceratin industries, citing horse trainers near his home by Ocala as an example.

The measure would let employees voluntarily opt out of minimum wage if they are involved in internships, work-study programs, pre-apprenticeships or apprenticeships.

“An unintended consequence of Florida’s constitutional minimum wage is that it cripples an employer’s ability to provide more opportunities for unskilled workers in the areas of apprenticeship and education,” Chamberlin said. “This is having a huge impact on our young people and those seeking retraining and other more profitable fields of work.”

Meanwhile, Democrats and advocates slammed Chamberlin’s proposal and raised fears the bill would be exploited by employers taking advantage by labeling jobs as internships to underpay workers or pressuring employees to sign waivers opting out of minimum wage.

Chamberlin acknowledged a big-box retailer like Target could conceivably create internships or apprenticeships to pay less than minimum wage.

“It’s certainly not intended for Target to be able to do that, and I’m not sure it would fly very well since there’s so many jobs out there that pay minimum wage or higher,” he said, defending his bill.

Democrats were also wary that the bill might be the start of a legal challenge against the constitutional amendment approved in 2020 raising the state’s minimum pay to $15 an hour by 2026. A similar bill (SB 676) is advancing in the Senate.

“Rep. Chamberlin, do you feel your bill is actually overriding the will of the over 60% of Floridians who voted to decide that folks should have a $15 minimum wage,” Rep. Angie Nixon, a Democrat, asked him during the one-hour debate.

“Absolutely not because I’m not eliminating the minimum wage in this bill,” he answered.

Republican Rep. Brad Yeager jumped into the debate and said many interns are already unpaid.

“You just gave some additional reasons to do this,” Chamberlin told him. “This bill does even nudge more towards some of that being paid where in the past it may not have been paid at all.”

Multiple attendees spoke out against the bill.

Karen Woodall, Executive Director of the Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy, argued that the bill appeared to be unconstitutional. 

Florida AFL-CIO Director of Politics and Public Policy Rich Templin said the bill was too broad and brought up the holes.

“Can a minor sign the waiver? Will private employers be able to set up these programs on their own, or will they have to be administered through an educational institution?” Templin said. “What is the return for agreeing to sign this waiver? What will the employee or the student get in return for a lower wage?”

The bill’s next stop is the House Careers & Workforce Subcommittee. It then heads to the Commerce Committee.

If passed, the minimum wage change would take effect July 1.

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