City of St. Pete to expand $15 minimum wage to all part-time employees

St. Petersburg, FL — Beginning April 1, all St. Petersburg employees will earn at least $15 an hour. A new policy will extend the city’s $15 minimum wage to part-time employees with less than five years on staff, who were previously exempt from the minimum wage ordinance.

The move expands on a City Council-approved policy in 2015 to pay at least $15 an hour to all full-time employees and part-time employees who have worked for the city for at least five years. 

The decision expedites a new state law gradually increasing minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026, which voters approved in 2020. 

Said St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch: “Everyone deserves to earn a living wage whether they’ve been on the job for five years or five days. St. Petersburg led the way in 2015 to provide a $15 minimum wage and it is time we extend that to all employees, regardless of tenure.” 

Currently, the policy change will affect 211 city employees. It’s expected to cost the city $218,000 for the balance of fiscal year 2022.