California Minimum Wage Workers Get A Raise In 2020

CALIFORNIA — A new calendar year means a boost in the paychecks of minimum-wage American workers in more than 20 states, including California, where new minimum wage standards take effect in 2020.

In California, the 2020 minimum wage rate of $12 an hour for businesses with 25 employees or fewer and $13 an hour for larger companies takes effect on Jan. 1. That compares with a minimum wage of $11 in 2019. The minimum wage will increase to $15 per hour in 2022.

The federal minimum wage rate has remained unchanged at $7.25 an hour since 2009, but state legislatures — and, in some cases, voters themselves through ballot measures — have approved minimum wage increases. In some cases, counties and cities have set minimum wage floors.

In Los Angeles County, for example, the minimum wage is $13.25. Several Bay Area cities have passed a higher minimum wage, including San Francisco, where minimum wage is $15.59.

The 21 states enacting minimum wage hikes are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, South Dakota, Vermont and Washington. The information was compiled by govdocs.com, a website that curates government documents on employment law for companies worldwide.

The highest of the new rates is in Washington State, where a 2016 voter-approved ballot initiative called for a $13.50 minimum wage floor in 2020, nearly twice the federal minimum wage. The Washington rate is up from $12 an hour in 2019. There is no provision in the law for tipped employees.

See Also: How Much To Expect In Social Security Payments In CA In 2020

Several other states boosted minimum wage to $12 an hour, and several also increased the floor only modestly. For example, Florida’s minimum wage goes up less than 25 cents per hour, to $8.46, from $8.25 an hour in 2019.

The analysis showed widespread disparity in how minimum wage workers who are tipped are treated. In New Mexico, for example, the 2020 minimum wage for tipped employees is $2.35 an hour, compared with $9 and $8.98 an hour, respectively, in neighboring states Arizona and Colorado.