California Minimum Wages Increased Today, January 1, 2020 by $1 Per Hour

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If you are a minimum wage earner in California, today you received a pay increase of either 9.1% or 8.3%.

Huh? Well it depends on if your employer has 25 or fewer employees or 26 or more employees. If you work for a smaller employer (25 or less employees), the California minimum wage increases from $11 to $12 per hour. If you work for a larger employer (26 or more employees), your wage increases from $12 to $13 per hour.

Hmm, that brings an interesting idea to mind. If you are a minimum wage earner at a smaller company as defined, you could actually receive an 18.2% increase in 2020 simply by finding a larger employer!

In any case, by law, California minimum wage rates for all companies will be raised to $15 per hour with $1 increases on January 1st of each year by 2022 for larger employers and 2023 for smaller employers. See charts below.

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The federal minimum wage for 2020 is $7.25, a rate that has stood frozen in time since it became effective on July 24, 2009.

California minimum wage rates apply to Ventura County residents. But City of Los Angeles and County of Los Angeles minimum wage rates are currently higher than Ventura County/California wage rates. They are currently:

  • $13.25 for employers with 25 or less employees until 7/1/20, when the rate increases to $14.25 per hour. The rate subsequently increases to $15 per hour 7/1/21.

  • $14.25 for employers with 26 or more employees until 7/1/20, when the rate increases to $15 per hour.

Looking for a higher minimum wage? Move to San Francisco, where the rate is currently $15.59 per hour and will be adjusted for inflation on July 1, 2020.