TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – It’s the first Monday in September and many of Florida’s state employees are off this Labor Day.
State workers typically look forward to the new month because it usually means a pay raise, but that won’t be the case this year.
With no pay raise, state employees say they’re in a tough spot.
The Florida House rejected an across-the-board raise last legislative session, meaning only state law enforcement and correctional employees are seeing a raise.
Florida Politics
That hits cities like Tallahassee hard, where state employees make up much of the workforce.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, however, says the Sunshine State is among the leanest state governments in the country, providing more services with less manpower.
“I know so many state workers have families and they expressed to me anonymously that they’re scared for their jobs and they can’t rattle or shake the boat or rock the boat because they don’t have the money saved away,” said Jordan Scott, Northwest Florida Federation of Labor.
Private workers in Florida will see a $15-an-hour minimum wage kick in by the end of the month, thanks to a constitutional amendment passed back in 2020.
The governor sometimes gives state employees extra days off around the holidays, and the state workers we’ve spoken to say they certainly appreciate that, but sometimes they wish they just had the extra income.
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