CA Minimum Wage Going Up Jan. 1

Bryan Little, Farm Employers Labor Service

August 4, 2024

Joe Stephenshaw, the California Director of Finance, released a letter on July 31 to the Governor and various members of the California Legislature and legislative leadership fulfilling the mandate of Labor Code Section 1182.12 (c)(1) (added by SB 3, Leno, 2015) to calculate and implement an inflation adjustment to California’s minimum wage triggered by the increasing Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (the CPI-W).  Section 1182 requires the Director to calculate the CPI-W increase between July 1 and June 30 rounded to the nearest 10 cents, capped at 3.5%.  Director Stephenshaw’s calculations indicated a 6.16% increase in the CPI-W during the relevant time period, triggering the 3.5% capped increase yielding a minimum wage of $16 per hour as of January 1, 2024.  No further action by any other official is required to accomplish this increase in the minimum wage, as the language of Labor Code Section 1182.12(c)(1) specifies that “…the calculation shall increase the minimum wage…”  You can review Director Stephenshaw’s July 31 letter here.