Minimum Wage is on the Rise

On July 1, 2022, minimum wage requirements for employers in several California cities will increase. If you operate in any of these municipalities, you need to assess whether you are paying your non-exempt, hourly employees enough to meet the new requirements. In Southern California, increases take effect in the cities of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Malibu, Pasadena, Santa Monica and West Hollywood, as well as in unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County.

The City of Los Angeles’ hourly minimum wage rate will rise from $15.00 to $16.04. Meanwhile, in unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, the hourly minimum wage will increase from $15.00 to $15.96. The City of Los Angeles is also raising its minimum hourly wage for workers in large hotels (with more than 150 rooms) to $18.17. The county’s minimum wage rate applies to employees working at least two hours per week in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, regardless of how many employees the employer has. By contrast, employers in incorporated cities in Los Angeles County will be bound by their city’s local minimum wage ordinance or, in the absence of such an ordinance, by the state’s minimum wage requirements. This is the first year Los Angeles County has adjusted the minimum wage rate based on changes to the consumer price index, as required by the county’s Minimum Wage Ordinance. Employers subject to the county’s minimum wage law are required to post the updated minimum wage poster in multiple languages, available here . The City of Los Angeles has a separate minimum wage poster, which employers operating in the city are required to post and can be found here.

Santa Monica will raise its minimum wage to $15.96 for all employees except for hotel workers who will be entitled to a minimum wage of $16.50. The cities of Long Beach and West Hollywood also have a different minimum wage increase for hotel workers. In Long Beach, the regular minimum wage will remain at $14.00 for small employers and $15.00 for large employers, while hotel worker’s minimum wage increases to 16.73; In West Hollywood, small employers will be required to pay a minimum hourly wage of $16.00, large employers will be required to pay a minimum of $16.50 per hour and hotel worker’s will be entitled to a minimum wage of $18.35 per hour.

For a more complete list of California municipalities that are raising minimum wages effective July 1, 2022, see below:

Locality Current Min. Wage New Min. Wage

Alameda $15.00 $15.75

Berkeley $16.32 $16.99

Emeryville $17.13 $17.68

Fremont $15.00 $16.00

Foster City State Requirement $15.75

Long Beach (hotel workers) $15.69 $16.73

Los Angeles City $15.00 $16.04

Los Angeles County (unincorporated areas) $15.00 $15.96

Los Angeles (hotels--at least 150 rooms) $17.64 $18.17

Malibu $14.25 $15.96

Milpitas $15.65 $16.40

Pasadena $15.00 $16.11

San Francisco $16.32 $16.99

Santa Monica $15.00 $15.96

West Hollywood (up to 50 employees) $15.50 $16.50

West Hollywood (more than 50 employees) $15.50 $16.00

West Hollywood (hotel workers) $17.64 $18.35

Please make sure that you have posted the appropriate minimum wage poster for your location to reflect the new state and local increases. Exempt employee salaries will not be affected by the changes in local law since the minimum salary basis for such employees is based on the state minimum wage.