California’s drive toward a 15-dollar minimum wage for all employers continues. Effective January 1, 2022, the minimum wage for employers with 25 employees or less will increase to $14.00 per hour, and for employers with 26 or more employees, the minimum wage will increase to $15.00 per hour. Employers must remember this increase also affects minimum salary requirements for exempt employees.
While some local minimum wages increase mid-year, many others also increase on January 1 at the same time the State’s increases take effect.
Additionally, the following local minimum wage increases go into effect on January 1, 2022, and are differentiated by employer size:
| Hayward |
Employers with 25 or fewer employees:
$14.52 per hour
|
Employers with 26 or more employees:
$15.56 per hour
|
|
| Novato |
Employers with 1 to 25 employees:
$15.00 per hour
|
Employers with 26- 99 employees:
$15.53 per hour
|
Employers with 100 or more employees:
$15.77
|
| Sonoma |
Employers with 25 or fewer employees:
$15.00 per hour
|
Employers with 26 or more employees:
$16.00 per hour
|
|
The following local minimum wages go into effect on January 1, 2021, regardless of employer size:
| City |
Required Minimum Wage as of January 1, 2021, Irrespective of Employer Size
|
| Belmont |
$16.20 per hour |
| Burlingame |
$15.60 per hour |
| Cupertino |
$16.40 per hour |
| Daly City |
$15.53 per hour |
| East Palo Alto |
$15.60 per hour |
| El Cerrito |
$16.37 per hour |
| Half Moon Bay |
$15.56 per hour |
| Los Altos |
$16.40 per hour |
| Menlo Park |
$15.75 per hour |
| Mountain View |
$17.10 per hour |
| Oakland |
$15.06 per hour |
| Palo Alto |
$16.45 per hour |
| Petaluma |
$15.85 per hour |
| Redwood City |
$16.20 per hour |
| Richmond |
$15.54 per hour |
| San Carlos |
$15.77 per hour |
| San Diego |
$15.00 per hour |
| San Jose |
$16.20 per hour |
| San Mateo |
$16.20 per hour |
| Santa Clara |
$16.40 per hour |
| Santa Rosa |
$15.85 per hour |
| South San Francisco |
$15.55 per hour |
| Sunnyvale |
$17.10 per hour |
Employers must also ensure their minimum wage postings are updated appropriately to reflect state and local increases.
