Tallahassee, FL — This week, the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association (FRLA) launched a tipped wage calculator on its website revealing the monumental cost Ballot Amendment 2 will have on Florida businesses if passed. The calculator helps small businesses determine the real cost Ballot Amendment 2 will have on their payroll expenses.
Ballot Amendment 2 is a Constitutional amendment for voters to consider on November 3 that will raise the mandatory minimum wage in Florida to $15 an hour.
This calculator depicts the drastic effects of Ballot Amendment 2, revealing that payroll costs with the mandatory minimum wage could increase as high as 77%. With such an exorbitant hike in payroll costs, this ballot amendment will force small businesses that are already struggling to close, destroying local economies and killing additional jobs.
“Before COVID-19, Florida’s restaurant, lodging, and tourism industry generated more than $112 billion in annual economic impact and provided jobs for more than 1.5 million Florida families,” said Carol Dover, President & CEO of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association. “This tipped wage calculator will help to show Floridians the cold, hard numbers that will affect their bottom line and ultimately determine whether or not their business will survive.”
Small business owners and hospitality workers statewide have spearheaded the “Amendment 2 Hurts You” effort to educate Floridians about the detrimental effects Ballot Amendment 2 will have on Florida’s economy.
FRLA has served as one of the biggest advocates for the campaign.
“A new economic impact study has revealed that Florida will lose at least 158,0000 jobs for workers across the state if this ballot initiative is passed,” stated Dover. “Ballot Amendment 2 is a job killer, one that will leave the hospitality industry on life support. We cannot afford to lose the small, family-owned businesses that make Florida unique and are responsible for the majority of jobs created in this state.”
Florida’s unemployment rate stands at 11.3% due to the economic impacts of COVID-19. Additionally, a recent economic analysis reports that COVID-19 has already destroyed about 336,000 direct and hotel-supported jobs and led to hundreds of thousands of job losses and billions in sales. Many of Florida’s businesses already have had to furlough staff and reduce hours.
This scheme has already created devastating consequences on several cities across the nation, including Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago and Washington, D.C., killing jobs, closing businesses and expanding the income gap.
FRLA urges Floridians to help save Florida jobs by voting no on Ballot Amendment 2 this November.
ABOUT AMENDMENT 2 HURTS YOU:
Amendment 2 Hurts You is a campaign to raise awareness for the consequences of Ballot Amendment 2 on small businesses, workers and the economy.
Learn more about how Ballot Amendment 2 will devastate Florida:
- Online at Amendment2HurtsYou.com
- On Facebook
- On Twitter
- On LinkedIn
- On Instagram
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