A Reminder of Minimum Wage Increases in California for the New Year
California’s drive toward a $15 minimum wage for all employers continues. Effective Jan. 1, 2022, the minimum wage for employers with 25 employees or less will increase to $14.00 per hour, and for employers with 26 or more employees, the minimum wage will increase to $15.00 per hour. Employers must remember this increase also affects minimum salary requirements for exempt employees.
While some local minimum wages increase mid-year, many others, like the City of West Hollywood, increase on January 1 at the same time the State’s increases take effect.
Additionally, the following local minimum wage increases go into effect on Jan. 1, 2022, and are differentiated by employer size:
|
Hayward |
Employers with 25 or fewer employees: $14.52 per hour |
Employers with 26 or more employees: $15.56 per hour |
|
|
Novato |
Employers with 1 to 25 employees: $15.00 per hour |
Employers with 26- 99 employees: $15.53 per hour |
Employers with 100 or more employees: $15.77 |
|
Sonoma |
Employers with 25 or fewer employees: $15.00 per hour |
Employers with 26 or more employees: $16.00 per hour
|
The following local minimum wages go into effect on Jan. 1, 2022, regardless of employer size:
|
City |
Required Minimum Wage as of January 1, 2021, Irrespective of Employer Size
|
|
Belmont |
$16.20 per hour |
|
Burlingame |
$15.60 per hour |
|
Cupertino |
$16.40 per hour |
|
Daly City |
$15.53 per hour |
|
East Palo Alto |
$15.60 per hour |
|
El Cerrito |
$16.37 per hour |
|
Half Moon Bay |
$15.56 per hour |
|
Los Altos |
$16.40 per hour |
|
Menlo Park |
$15.75 per hour |
|
Mountain View |
$17.10 per hour |
|
Oakland |
$15.06 per hour |
|
Palo Alto |
$16.45 per hour |
|
Petaluma |
$15.85 per hour |
|
Redwood City |
$16.20 per hour |
|
Richmond |
$15.54 per hour |
|
San Carlos |
$15.77 per hour |
|
San Diego |
$15.00 per hour |
|
San Jose |
$16.20 per hour |
|
San Mateo |
$16.20 per hour |
|
Santa Clara |
$16.40 per hour |
|
Santa Rosa |
$15.85 per hour |
|
South San Francisco |
$15.80 per hour |
|
Sunnyvale |
$17.10 per hour |
Employers must also ensure their minimum wage postings are updated appropriately to reflect state and local increases.