Happy New Year with New Pay

Our local, state and federal governments have been working tirelessly to enhance the lives of workers and attempting to meet their needs by making sure their pay is sufficient or comparable to the rising cost of living across America. Information regarding the changes to the federal overtime regulations was recently shared - however, since our web article on the topic, a federal district court in Texas has issued a nationwide injunction preventing the Department of Labor from enforcing the new overtime rules on Dec. 1.

In California there are approximately 30 separate minimum wage ordinances that meet or exceed the state minimum wage, with wages ranging from $10.50 per hour to $14.00 per hour effective January 1, 2017. For employees not impacted by a county or municipal minimum wage order, effective January 1, 2017, the California state minimum wage will be $10.50 per hour. Incremental increase on a year by year basis is anticipated until the state minimum wage reaches $15.00 per hour in January 2022 (if no scheduled increases are paused). Employees making under the 2017 state minimum wage should see an increase to their pay for the workweek including January 1 and thereafter.

For more information regarding minimum wage, visit the State of California Department of Industrial Relations’ website at dir.ca.gov/dlse.