Effective July 1, 2019
California minimum wage currently is $12.00 per hour for employers with 26 or more employees and $11.00 for employers that employ 25 or fewer. Annual increases will continue each January 1 until they reach $15.00 per hour in 2022 for larger employers and in 2023 for employers with 25 or fewer employees.
The nine California cities and two counties listed below will increase their local minimum wage rates effective this July 1, 2019. See the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education listing for regular updates.
| City or County | Minimum Wage Rate |
| Berkeley | $15.59 |
| Emeryville | $16.30 |
| Los Angeles City | $13.25 (25 or fewer employees)
and $14.25 (26 employees or more) |
| Los Angeles County (Unincorporated Areas) | $13.25 (25 or fewer employees)
and $14.25 (26 employees or more) |
| Malibu | $13.25 (25 or fewer employees)
and $14.25 (26 or more employees) |
| Milpitas | $15.00 |
| Pasadena | $13.25 (25 or fewer employees)
and $14.25 (26 employees or more) |
| San Francisco City and County | $15.59 |
| San Leandro | $14.00 |
| Santa Monica
|
$13.25 (25 or fewer employees)
and $14.25 (26 employees or more) |
Some cities have enacted separate minimum wage laws for hotel workers that also change July 1, 2019. For example, the minimum wage for hotel workers will be $14.97 in Long Beach (all hotels), $16.63.in Santa Monica (all hotels), and $16.63 in City of Los Angeles (hotels with 150 or more rooms). In addition, on May 29, 2019, Emeryville passed an amendment to its minimum wage ordinance, section 5-37-.02 of the Emeryville Municipal Code, which makes the minimum wage for small independent restaurants – having fewer than 21 locations globally — $15.00 as of July 1, 2019. On July 1, 2020, that rate will increase to 93 percent of the minimum wage for employers that are not small businesses, with an additional one percent of that amount added each year on July 1 until those businesses are paying the same minimum wage rate as other businesses as of July 1, 2027.
Non-profit charitable organizations should check for possibly slower implementation requirements under applicable local ordinances.
A covered employer must also conspicuously post an updated wage notice for each applicable jurisdiction. Click the above city/county link(s) to download the most current notice.
See also:
- Cautionary Tales Episode #24 – Mango Gardens’ Actions Not Fruitful; Unpaid Wages and Attempt to Evade Consequences Result in Seizure of Owners’ Assets (January, 2019)
- What’s New For 2019 – Industry Wage Orders Updated for California Minimum Wage Increases (March, 2019)
- What’s New For 2019 – California Minimum Wages Rates for 2019 (December, 2018)
For further assistance, please contact one of our attorneys Tim Bowles, Cindy Bamforth or Helena Kobrin.
Helena Kobrin
June 14, 2019