Florida wage floor hits $15: update pay, pricing, and overtime now

What changed, and who it hits in grooming

WEAR-TV reports that Florida’s minimum wage has risen to 15 dollars per hour for non-tipped workers and 11.98 dollars for tipped workers. If you operate a Florida salon or mobile with employees, pay must clear these floors for every hour on the clock, not just time with shears in hand.

This affects hourly bathers, reception, and groomers on commission or a draw. Overtime and regular rate calculations rise with the new floor. Now is the time to tune pay plans, prices, scheduling, and recordkeeping.

Pay plans that pass an audit

Use one of these structures, then check the math weekly:

• Hourly bather or apprentice: Set the base at 15 dollars per hour or higher. Add a 1 to 3 dollar performance premium for upsells or ticket average, but never pay below 15 for any hour worked.
• Commissioned groomer with guarantee: 40 to 50 percent commission, plus a guaranteed floor of 15 dollars per hour for every clocked hour. At payroll close, pay the greater of commission or hourly total, then add any required overtime premium.
• Tipped roles using tip credit: If you choose the tipped route, cash wage at least 11.98 per hour and tips must bring the total to at least 15. If tips fall short in a workweek, you pay the difference. Keep daily tip records signed by the employee. Owners and managers should not participate in any tip pool.

Overtime: Non-exempt employees earn 1.5 times their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. For commissioned or tipped staff, the regular rate includes commission and certain bonuses. If you are not confident in the calculation, have your payroll provider compute the regular rate each pay period and budget for the higher premium. A conservative approach is to cap at 40 hours and schedule overflow to a second team member.

Count all hours worked: pre-open setup, cleaning, laundry, cage drying supervision, sharpening runs, client callbacks, loading the van, driving between stops, and waiting on late arrivals. None of that can be off the clock.

Price moves to protect margin

Target labor at 35 to 45 percent of service revenue. If the wage floor bumps your labor share above that, raise prices or shorten appointments. Use these quick checks:

• Hourly sensitivity: A 2 dollar increase per paid hour on a 2 hour small-dog groom adds about 4 dollars in labor cost. Raise that ticket by 5 to 7 dollars to cover payroll taxes and product.
• Commission check: If you pay 50 percent, your labor already scales with price. The risk is idle time. Keep a 15 dollar per hour floor and fill gaps with bath-only and add-on work to keep the effective hourly above the floor.
• Mobile adjustment: Price a 15 to 25 dollar convenience fee, or bake 10 to 15 minutes of drive time into each stop’s price. If routes have long gaps, increase your mobile minimum by 8 to 12 dollars per stop.

Suggested 2026 Florida ranges, adapt to your market:

• Short-coat bath and nails, 45 to 65 dollars, 45 to 60 minutes.
• Small full groom, 75 to 95 dollars, 75 to 105 minutes.
• Doodle or large full groom, 120 to 160 dollars, 2 to 3 hours.
• De-shed upgrade, add 20 to 40 dollars and 20 to 40 minutes.

New client or Saturday deposit: 25 to 50 percent, applied to the ticket. No-shows or late cancels forfeit the deposit if canceled within 24 hours. If you need online deposits, GroomBoard supports online payments and deposits via Stripe along with SMS reminders so fewer gaps eat into paid hours.

Scheduling and timekeeping adjustments

Standardize appointment blocks so paid time matches booked time:

• Bath-only, 45 to 60 minutes per small to medium dog, 75 to 90 minutes for large double coats.
• Full groom, 90 minutes for small to medium, 2 to 3 hours for large or high-maintenance coats.
• Pad 10 minutes per dog for sanitation, photos, notes, and checkout. Paid time should include that pad.

Mobile route planning: Start-of-day address to address travel is paid. Build 10 to 20 minutes between stops for drive and unload. If clients run late, that wait time is paid too. Use firm arrival windows and a written lateness rule to prevent paid idle time from growing.

Time clock hygiene: Require in and out punches for unpaid meal periods if you use them. No off-the-clock cleanup. Audit weekly totals for anyone near 40 hours and shift overflow to the next day to avoid unplanned overtime.

Compliance checklist for Florida salons and mobiles

• Post the new Florida minimum wage notice alongside the federal poster, and replace any older version.
• Update written pay plans. Sample language: Our base for non-tipped roles is at least 15 dollars per hour. For tipped roles, we pay at least 11.98 per hour and ensure tips bring total pay to at least 15. All hours worked, including drive, prep, cleanup, and wait time, are on the clock.
• Tip practices: Keep tips with the employee who earned them or in a limited tip pool of customer-facing staff. Keep managers and owners out of any pool. Document daily tips.
• Commission math: Put in writing how you reconcile commission with the hourly floor and how overtime is calculated. Reconcile weekly.
• Pay frequency and records: Maintain daily time sheets, weekly tip logs, and pay stubs that show hours, base, tips, commission, and overtime lines.
• Client communication: Send a short notice on price changes tied to increased labor costs. Give at least two weeks notice where possible.

Keep the books simple, pay at or above the new floor for each hour worked, and raise prices enough to hold margin. It is easier to update a price list once and keep it than to fight payroll every Friday.