Minimum Wage Goes Up Again for California Municipalities
Here we go again. It’s that time in the summer when San Francisco, Los Angeles and about a dozen cities and counties compete for the title of Highest Minimum Wage in the state. This year, the award goes to the city of Emeryville, in the San Francisco Bay area, with a new minimum wage of $19.36. Meanwhile last year’s winner, West Hollywood, comes in second as it maintains its minimum wage of $19.08 through the end of the year.
While the California minimum wage remains at $16.00/hour for the rest of 2024, close to 40 localities have their own minimum wage requirements that are higher than the state’s minimum wage and eleven of those are set to increase further on July 1st. Employers should also be aware that some places have higher minimum wages for workers in specific industries such as hotel and airport workers.
The basic rule to remember is that the higher minimum wage, whether local or state, or industry specific, always applies.
The following chart lists those locations where the minimum raise is set to increase on July 1st.
| Locality | New Minimum Wage (effective July 1, 2024) | Special Industry Minimum Wage | Required Postings |
| Alameda | $17.00 | Minimum Wage Notice | |
| Berkeley | $18.67 | Minimum Wage Notice | |
| Emeryville | $19.36 | Minimum Wage and Sick Leave Poster | |
| Fremont | $17.30 | Minimum Wage Bulletin | |
| City of Los Angeles | $17.28 | Airport workers $19.28 base
Hotel workers (60+ rooms) $20.32 |
Minimum Wage and Paid Sick Leave Poster |
| Unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County | $17.27 | Minimum Wage Increase Notice | |
| Malibu | $17.27 | Minimum Wage Poster | |
| Milpitas | $17.70 | Minimum Wage Poster | |
| Pasadena | $17.50 | Minimum Wage Handout | |
| San Francisco | $18.67 | Minimum Wage Poster | |
| Santa Monica | $17.27 | Hotel workers $20.32 (incl. businesses on hotel properties) | Minimum Wage Notification |
Other California municipalities that have their own minimum wage requirements include:
Belmont, Burlingame, Cupertino, Daly City, East Palo Alto, El Cerrito, Foster City, Half Moon Bay, Hayward, Long Beach, Los Altos, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Novato, Oakland, Palo Alto, Petaluma, Redwood City, Richmond, San Carlos, San Diego, San Jose, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Rosa, Sonoma, South San Francisco, Sunnyvale and West Hollywood.
If you have employees who work in any of these locations, please contact WorkWise Law, PC to help you navigate the ever-changing minimum wage landscape.
Healthcare Minimum Wage Increase Likely Postponed Again
Most healthcare employers in California are aware that the state passed a law, SB 525, increasing minimum wage requirements for healthcare workers. The raise originally intended to go into effect on June 1. However, the measure was delayed: as we informed you on May 24, the raise was briefly postponed until July 1.
Now it appears that the raise will be postponed again. On June 22, Governor Newsom announced that he had reached agreement with legislators on the 2024 budget. The agreement provides that the minimum wage raise will not come into effect until October 15 at the earliest, and may possibly not come into effect until January 1, 2025, depending on the level of state revenues. The legislature is expected to approve the changes and Governor Newsom to sign them into law before July 1.
Healthcare employers should speak to counsel to stay informed of the proposed postponement but should not in any way rely on it until the proposed delay has been passed by the legislature and signed by the governor.
Workplace Violence Prevention Plan and Training Due July 1st
July 1st deadline for completing Workplace Violence Prevention Plan and Training your Staff is in two business days! If you need to train your staff immediately, please call us and we can send you video webinars that come with a certificate of completion. There is no grace period under SB 553 for completing this training.
Federal Salary Threshold for Exempt Employees Increases
Starting July 1st, the minimum salary employers need to pay exempt employees will increase to $43,888 per year. The Department of Labor’s new Rule regarding overtime exemptions under the federal Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) is designed to make it harder for employers to classify employees as exempt from overtime by increasing the minimum salary employers must pay exempt employees.
Under federal law, employees are generally properly classified as exempt if they spend most of their time performing exempt duties and exercising discretion and independent judgment, and their salary meets or exceeds the threshold set by the DOL. On July 1, 2024, the threshold will increase from $684.00 per week ($35,568/year) to $844.00 per week ($43,888/year). (See, DOL Fact Sheet # 17A)
In California, the salary threshold for exempt employees of $66,560/year remains higher than the federal threshold and has its own job duties analyses.
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