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California Cities Opt for Higher Minimum Wage as of 7/1

Bryan Little, Farm Employers Labor Service

July 3, 2017; updated January 5, 2018

California's state minimum wage rose to $10 for employers of 25 or fewer employees, and $10.50 for employers of 26 or more, with additional changes coming until the state minimum wage reaches $15 for all employers on January 1, 2023.

Some of California's cities have elected to get into the minimum wage game too, raising minimum wages as of July 1, 2017 to levels that are even higher than California's:

California Employers Face a Patchwork of New Minimum Wages in 2018 from the Society for Human Resource Management is a very good resource for more information on new local minimum wages in California localities. 

As you can see, several of these new local minimum wages became effective on July 1, 2017.   What does it mean for employers who are not actually located in the city, but whose workers may sometimes work in a city with a higher minimum wage than that in the county where the employer is located?  Frequently asked questions from the website of the City of Milpitas offers some insight:

"Q: Does the City Minimum Wage apply to employees who work in San Mateo, but are not San Mateo residents?

A: Yes, any person who works for an employer that maintains a facility in the City of San Mateo or provides goods and/or services within the City limits, is eligible to be paid the at City of San Mateo’s minimum wage rate."

FELS suggests that employers whose employees may work in a locality with a higher minimum wage than that in the locality where the employer is based ensure that the higher minimum wage for that locality is paid to those employees for time worked in those jurisdictions.  FELS also suggests employers consult the city government where any of their employees may be assigned to work for guidance on the city government's compliance expectations.