The California statewide minimum wage is currently $9.00 per hour. It will increase to $10.00 per hour on January 1, 2016 as a result of the passage of AB 10, which I blogged about here.
But local jurisdictions are always free to set higher minimum wages, and that is exactly what voters in both Oakland and San Francisco have done.
Oakland’s new law states that, effective March 2, 2015, its new minimum wage will be $12.25. Thereafter, Oakland’s minimum wage will increase each January 1st based on increases in the cost of living. (In addition, the new Oakland law requires that, effective March 2, 2015, Oakland employers grant paid sick leave to their employees at the rate of 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. This gives Oakland a paid sick leave ordinance that is virtually identical to San Francisco’s.)
San Francisco’s new law states, that effective January 1, 2015, its new minimum wage will be $11.05. That increases to $12.25 on May 1, 2015; then to $13.00 on July 1, 2016; then to $14.00 on July 1, 2017; then to $15.00 on July 1, 2018. Thereafter, just like Oakland’s minimum wage, San Francisco’s minimum wage will increase every year based on increases in the cost of living.
