Politics
House subcommittee OKs bill to allow workers to be paid under minimum wage
Reviving a controversial bill from last year, a House subcommittee OK’d a measure to allow some workers to be paid less than the minimum wage.
The House Industries and Professional Activities Subcommittee advanced HB 221, which would allow workers to voluntarily choose to be paid lower wages for a work study, internship or apprenticeship.
Most Republicans on the subcommittee supported what they called giving low-skilled workers opportunities to learn. They said those chances will pay off in the long run and aren’t possible now under current law.
But Democrats and Rep. Susan Valdés, a Republican, countered that the measure will hurt workers who are already struggling to make ends meet and is ripe for corporations to exploit workers.
“I was doing the math and it’s $7.25 for 40 hours a week. That’s $290 a week,” said Valdés, of Tampa, about the sub-minimum law proposal. “I’m thinking of the citizens back home that I represent and it’s tough. I have multiple families living under one roof in a single-family home because they can’t afford to do otherwise.”
Democrats and Valdés also questioned the legality of the bill, as Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment for a $15 minimum wage in 2020.
“I’m still not convinced this is constitutional,” Rep. Anna Eskamani, an Orlando Democrat, said of the bill.
Rep. Ryan Chamberlin, a Belleview Republican sponsoring the bill, acknowledged his bill was “unique” but defended his proposal, saying he believed it was constitutional.
“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,” he told lawmakers. “This is having a huge impact on our young people and those seeking retraining and other more profitable fields of work should they choose.”
The bill forbids employers from coercing workers to opt out of receiving the state minimum wage. Minors would need their parents’ permission to sign waivers opting for sub-minimum wage pay.
Democrats and other critics pointed out the bill had no enforcement or repercussions for employers that pressure workers to be paid less, or fire them after an opt-in waiver expires. Critics said they feared that corporations looking to save a buck would hurt workers during an affordability crisis.
“This is the biggest amount of gaslighting I have witnessed in a long time,” said Rep. Angie Nixon, a Jacksonville Democrat. “This isn’t about creating opportunities. This is about pushing people into poverty and getting corrupt corporations and greedy billionaires richer — period.”
Chamberlin argued people could turn to the courts if employers violated the measure once it was passed.
With Wednesday’s vote, HB 221 cleared its first committee stop but still has two more to go. An identical Senate companion bill (SB 1412) sponsored by Sen. Jonathan Martin has been referred to three committees, but has yet to be called up to a committee vote.
Chamberlin previously introduced a similar bill during the 2025 Legislative Session, but it died after facing a lack of support from the upper chamber.
“To tell you the truth, I think if somebody works, whether they’re being an apprentice or whatever, minimum wage is actually in the Constitution for a reason,” Senate President Ben Albritton told reporters in the Summer during the final days of the 2025 Legislative Session.