The California minimum wage is scheduled to increase on January 1, 2017 to $10.50 per hour for businesses employing 26 or more employees. Small employers with 25 or fewer employees will not see an increase until 2018. The increase is a result of SB-3, which was signed into law earlier this year. The law will increase California’s minimum wage to $15 per hour over 6 years, with cost of living increases scheduled thereafter.
For large businesses, California’s minimum annual salary for executive, administrative, and professional exempt employees will also increase to $43,680 from $41,600. This increase will not affect small businesses (those with 25 or fewer employees) until 2018. The state’s minimum salary for exempt employees is tied to the state minimum wage. The state’s minimum salary for businesses with 26 or more employees will go into effect on January 1, 2017, and is not affected by the federal court injunction blocking the U.S. Department of Labor’s overtime rule.
On the local level, California employers must comply with 21 city and county ordinances. In each of these local jurisdictions, the minimum wage will increase in 2017. In 12 cities, the minimum wage will increase on January 1, 2017, and in the remaining jurisdictions, the minimum wage rate will increase in July of 2017 or later.
All of the 2017 local minimum wages are higher than the California state minimum wage. Large employers located in Emeryville will pay the highest rate, which is expected to reach $15.20 in July of 2017. Only seven of the local jurisdictions—Emeryville, the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Malibu, Pasadena, Richmond, and Santa Monica—give smaller employers a break. Only one city, San Mateo, allows nonprofits to pay their employees a lower rate.
The chart below summarizes the increases scheduled for 2017:
|
California Local Ordinance |
Effective Date of Increase |
2016 Rate |
2017 Rate |
|
Berkeley |
October 1, 2017 |
$12.53 |
$13.75 |
|
Cupertino |
January 1, 2017 |
NA |
$12.00 |
|
El Cerrito |
January 1, 2017 |
$11.60 |
$12.25 |
|
July 1, 2017 |
$13.00 |
$14.00 |
|
|
$14.82 |
$15.20 |
||
|
Long Beach |
January 1, 2017 |
NA |
$10.50 |
|
Los Altos |
January 1, 2017 |
NA |
$12.00 |
|
July 1, 2017 |
$10.50 |
$12.00 |
|
|
NA |
$10.50 |
||
|
Los Angeles County (Unincorporated Areas) |
July 1, 2017 |
$10.50 |
$12.00 |
|
NA |
$10.50 |
||
|
Malibu |
July 1, 2017 |
$10.50 |
$12.00 |
|
NA |
$10.50 |
||
|
Mountain View |
January 1, 2017 |
$11.00 |
$13.00 |
|
Oakland |
January 1, 2017 |
$12.55 |
$12.86 |
|
Palo Alto |
January 1, 2017 |
$11.00 |
$12.00 |
|
July 1, 2017 |
$10.50 |
$12.00 |
|
|
NA |
$10.50 |
||
|
Richmond |
January 1, 2017 |
$11.52 |
$12.30 |
|
$10.02 |
$10.80 |
||
|
$10.76 |
$11.40 |
||
|
January 1, 2017 |
$10.50 |
$11.50 |
|
|
San Francisco |
July 1, 2017 |
$13.00 |
$14.00 |
|
San Jose |
January 1, 2017 |
$10.30 |
$10.50 |
|
San Leandro |
July 1, 2017 |
NA |
$12.00 |
|
San Mateo |
January 1, 2017 |
NA |
$12.00 |
|
$10.50 (nonprofit employers) |
|||
|
Santa Clara |
January 1, 2017 |
$11.00 |
$11.10 |
|
Santa Monica |
July 1, 2017 |
$10.50 |
$12.00 |
|
NA |
$10.50 |
||
|
Sunnyvale |
January 1, 2017 |
$11.00 |
$13.00 |
