Effective January 1, 2017, California’s minimum wage will increase on a yearly basis until 2022. To learn more about this new legal implementation, here’s a statement from the State of California’s Department of Industrial Relations:
From January 1, 2017, to January 1, 2022, the minimum wage will increase for employers employing 26 or more employees. This increase will be delayed one year for employers employing 25 or fewer employees, from January 1, 2018, to January 1, 2023. The scheduled increases may be temporarily suspended by the Governor, based on certain determinations. (Please see the chart below for the complete schedule of rate increases).
Schedule for California Minimum Wage rate 2017-2023.
|
Date |
Minimum Wage for Employers with 25 Employees or Less |
Minimum Wage for Employers with 26 Employees or More |
|
January 1, 2017 |
$10.00/hour |
$10.50/hour |
|
January 1, 2018 |
$10.50/hour |
$11.00/hour |
|
January 1, 2019 |
$11.00/hour |
$12.00/hour |
|
January 1, 2020 |
$12.00/hour |
$13.00/hour |
|
January 1, 2021 |
$13.00/hour |
$14.00/hour |
|
January 1, 2022 |
$14.00/hour |
$15.00/hour |
|
January 1, 2023 |
$15.00/hour |
|
What is the difference between the local, state and federal minimum wage?
Most employers in California are subject to both the federal and state minimum wage laws. Also, local entities (cities and counties) are allowed to enact minimum wage rates and several cities* have recently adopted ordinances which establish a higher minimum wage rate for employees working within their local jurisdiction. The effect of this multiple coverage by different government sources is that when there are conflicting requirements in the laws, the employer must follow the stricter standard; that is, the one that is the most beneficial to the employee. Thus, since California’s current law requires a higher minimum wage rate than does the federal law, all employers in California who are subject to both laws must pay the state minimum wage rate unless their employees are exempt under California law. Similarly, if a local entity (city or county) has adopted a higher minimum wage, employees must be paid the local wage where it is higher than the state or federal minimum wage rates.
See below for localities with different minimum wage rates:
- San Jose: $10.50 per hour
- Santa Clara: $11.10 per hour
- Sunnyvale: $13.00 per hour
- Mountain View: $13.00 per hour
- Cupertino: $12.00 per hour
- Palo Alto: $12.00 per hour
- Los Altos: $12.00 per hour
- Oakland: $12.86 per hour
- San Mateo: $12.00 per hour
- San Diego: $11.50 per hour
To read more about minimum wage and how it might affect your company, visit the Department of Industrial Relations‘ website.