California Minimum Wages Increased Today, January 1, 2021 by $1 Per Hour

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If you are a minimum wage earner in California, today you received a pay increase of 8.3% (from $12 to $13 per hour) if you work at an employer with under 26 employees or 7.7% ($13 to $14 per hour) if your employer has 26 or more employees.

Current law calls for one additional increase for larger companies on January 1, 2022 and two additional increases for smaller companies on January 1, 2022 and 2023 to get to $15. See chart below.

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The federal minimum wage for 2021 is $7.25, a rate that has stood frozen in time since it became effective on July 24, 2009.

California minimum wage rates apply to Ventura County residents.

City of Los Angeles and County of Los Angeles minimum wage rates are currently higher than Ventura County/California wage rates. They are:

  • $14.25 for employers with 25 or less employees until 7/1/21, when the rate increases to $15 per hour.

  • $15 for employers with 26 or more employees.

Looking for a higher minimum wage? Move to San Francisco, where the rate is currently a nice, even $16.07 per hour. The rate is adjusted for inflation on July 1st of each year. If you’re going to have a minimum wage rate in the first place, this actually sounds like a reasonable way to administer it.