Governor Brown Signs Minimum Wage Increase

April 4, 2016

Bryan Little, Farm Employers Labor Service

On April 4, Governor Brown signed an increase in the California minimum wage.  The minimum wage increase will take place in stages.

Under SB 3 (Leno) the minimum wage will increase to $10.50/hour on Jan. 1, 2017, and $11/hour on Jan. 1, 2018.  The minimum wage would increase by one dollar per year on Jan. 1 of each year until it reaches $15/hour in 2022.  Businesses employing 25 or fewer employees will have an additional year to implement each step in the minimum wage increase.

Once the minimum wage reaches $15/hour in 2020, SB 3 will be indexed annually for inflation, limited to an increase of 3.5% (rounded to the nearest 10 cents).

The Governor has some discretion to delay scheduled increases prior to 2020 based on certain very specific economic or fiscal conditions.