All You Ever Wanted to Know About Minimum Wage Rates in California and U.S.

On September 25th, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law AB10, providing for an increase in the California minimum hourly wage from the current $8 per hour established January 1, 2008 to $9 on July 1, 2014 and $10 on January 1, 2016.

California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement provides the following history of minimum wage rates going back to 1916, when it was 16 cents per hour:

In California, there is an exception for "learners,"who may be paid not less than 85% of the minimum wage during their first 160 hours in a job where they have no previous similar or related experience. So if you are a learner, technically you can be paid as little as $6.80 at the current $8 minimum wage level for your first four weeks of full-time employment.

And if you are a sheepherder in California, and I know most California sheepherders are CVG fans, you have your own minimum monthly salary of $1,422.52 that was set in 2008.

The current $7.25 per hour Federal minimum wage was set on July 24, 2009. There are currently 19 states with minimum wages higher than the Federal minimum wage.  California is currently tied with Massachusetts as the 7th highest minimum wage state in the country.

The top three minimum wage paying states as of 2013 are Washington ($9.19), Oregon ($8.95) and Vermont ($8.60). These states all peg their annual rate increases to inflation, which to me is kind of a no brainer. Only 10 states do so.

There are currently four states, Georgia ($5.15), Wyoming ($5.15), Minnesota ($5.25) and Arkansas ($6.25), with minimum wages lower than the Federal minimum. However, the higher of the state or Federal rate applies...unless you work at a business with under $500,000 in annual revenue that is not involved in interstate commerce.

The City of San Francisco has the highest minimum wage rate in the country, at $10.55 per hour, fully 15% higher than in the state of Washington. And San Francisco increases its minimum wage rate for inflation each year. The city of Santa Fe, New Mexico, is on SF's heels with its "Living Wage" rate of $10.51 that was established March 1, 2013 and is also adjusted for inflation each year.

I think that's probably about all you could ever want to know at this point about minimum wages. If your goal is to find a job in and around Ventura County that earns MORE than minimum wage, then perhaps you should check out the Local Jobs section of CVG and review these resume submission tips.