California Minimum Wages Increased Today, January 1, 2020 by $1 Per Hour

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If you are a minimum wage earner in California, today you received a pay increase of either 9.1% or 8.3%.

Huh? Well it depends on if your employer has 25 or fewer employees or 26 or more employees. If you work for a smaller employer (25 or less employees), the California minimum wage increases from $11 to $12 per hour. If you work for a larger employer (26 or more employees), your wage increases from $12 to $13 per hour.

Hmm, that brings an interesting idea to mind. If you are a minimum wage earner at a smaller company as defined, you could actually receive an 18.2% increase in 2020 simply by finding a larger employer!

In any case, by law, California minimum wage rates for all companies will be raised to $15 per hour with $1 increases on January 1st of each year by 2022 for larger employers and 2023 for smaller employers. See charts below.

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The federal minimum wage for 2020 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. But City of Los Angeles and County of Los Angeles minimum wage rates are currently higher than Ventura County/California wage rates. They are currently:

  • $13.25 for employers with 25 or less employees until 7/1/20, when the rate increases to $14.25 per hour. The rate subsequently increases to $15 per hour 7/1/21.

  • $14.25 for employers with 26 or more employees until 7/1/20, when the rate increases to $15 per hour.

Looking for a higher minimum wage? Move to San Francisco, where the rate is currently $15.59 per hour and will be adjusted for inflation on July 1, 2020.

California Minimum Wage Laws as of July 2019

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Barring additional changes in California minimum wage laws prior to 2023, here is the schedule for California minimum wages through that year from the State of California Department of Industrial Relations:

The federal minimum wage for 2019 is $7.25, a rate that has stood frozen in time since it became effective on July 24, 2009. Politics aside, if a federal minimum wage is going to exist and serve any purpose, why would it not change for 10 years? For it to have any meaning, perhaps apply an inflation factor to the rate. Cumulative price changes from 2009 to 2019 were about 19%, which would render a federal minimum wage rate of $8.63 in 2019. Otherwise, perhaps eliminate the federal minimum wage rate and leave it to the states.

I digress. In addition to the state and federal minimum wage rates, many cities and counties have their own minimum wage ordinances, including our neighboring Los Angeles County and City of Los Angeles:

Note that as of July 2019, employees at companies with 26 or more City of Los Angeles based employees will receive a minimum of $14.25 per hour, $2.25 more than the rest of the state, including Ventura County. But if your LA based company only employs 25 employees or less, the minimum is $13.25.

Employees in unincorporated sections of Los Angeles County also receive the above noted rates.

As of July 2019, the County of Ventura and cities in Ventura County have not established separate minimum wage rates.

Now if you’re really looking for a high minimum wage, move to San Francisco, where the current minimum wage is $15.59 per hour as of July 1st.

For local area jobs in Ventura County and nearby areas that pay more than the minimum wage rate, visit THIS LINK.

Top Hiring Employers in Ventura County and Nearby Areas as We Enter 2019

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As we enter a new year, it is a great time to start looking for a job, or perhaps a new job. This popular list of over 300 employers in Ventura County and surrounding areas provides local job seekers with resources for discovering local opportunities.

Let's take a closer look at that list and highlight some of the companies that have the largest number of posted job openings as of January 1, 2019.

Conejo Valley (Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Newbury Park, Agoura Hills, Calabasas) Top Hiring Employers

Simi Valley/Moorpark Top Hiring Employers

Camarillo/Oxnard/Ventura Top Hiring Employers

Top Hiring Employers in the San Fernando Valley, Malibu and Other Local Cities

Top Hiring Employers in Santa Barbara County

Click here for some practical resume submission tips. And of course, don't limit yourselves to just these companies! Check out the more comprehensive list at this link.

Dealing With Difficult People at Work: Can't Control Them But You Can Control You

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Here's a nice little article written by Tony Schwartz in the Harvard Business School Blog Network. Provides some nice, useful perspectives regarding how to deal with people in the workplace, bosses or otherwise, that you find to be difficult. You know, people that backstab, steal your ideas, micromanage you, don't give you credit, can't make up their minds, nag you, don't respond to your requests, is flaky, etc. No doubt most of us can relate.

We all know you can't control the other person but we also need to be reminded of this fact. This applies to all relationships, work or otherwise. But you CAN control how you react. This article summarizes three effective ways of doing so:

1. Realistic Optimism: You can't change them but you can change the way YOU react. Instead of reacting negatively, you can reassess what really is the "problem" in your mind and then choose to look at things...and react to them...more positively.

2. The Reverse Lens: You feel threatened and devalued, but another way out is to take a hard look at what is driving your boss/coworker to act the way they are, and to try to understand them. What's driving the other person's behavior and can you empathize with them? Your empathy may help give them the value they seek and may improve the situation.

3. The Long Lens: OK, maybe the other person truly is a dirtbag that in the long term you'll never be able to work with. So another way to deal with it is, what can you learn from them and/or the situation. Can it, will you let it, lead to bigger and better things in your life.

Speaking of work and jobs, if you looking for a job in the Ventura County area, you may find this list of over 200 links to hiring companies useful.

What Not to Do in Your Job Search: 10 Common Mistakes Made by Job Hunters

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What Not to Do in Your Job Search

10 common mistakes made by job hunters—and how to avoid them

By Kathyrn Ullrich

Five out of six working Americans—a full 84 percent—plan to look for a new position in 2011, according to a recent survey by job-placement firm Manpower. If you are, or soon will be, one of them, you’ve got to stack your deck to stand out and succeed. But how? Start by knowing—and avoiding—10 common mistakes made by job hunters:

1. Playing the generalist card

Now more than ever, companies look for specialists, not generalists. Develop a personal brand, distinguish your skills and strengths, and design your job search around specific industries and functions. For inspiration, turn to the Internet or a Sunday newspaper and study searches from real-life companies. Recently, for instance, a well-known software company was seeking a seasoned marketer “skilled in developing online video for B2B marketing.” In short: specialize!

2. Bloated resumes

Employers don’t read resumes—they scan them in mere seconds. Put

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