California Hikes 2023 Minimum Wage

By Swerdlow Florence Sanchez Swerdlow & Wimmer

May 16, 2022

Effective January 1, 2023, the minimum wage rate for all California employers – regardless of size – will increase to $15.50/hour.  Employers with 25 or fewer employees will see a $1.50/hour jump from $14.00/hour to $15.50/hour, instead of the previously planned increase to $15.00.  This also means that the minimum rate of salary to be paid to an exempt employee in California in 2023 will increase to $64,480, i.e., twice the minimum wage rate for full-time employment.

We encourage all California employers to review their wage rates to ensure continued compliance with California’s 2023 rates, including reviewing the salary rates of all exempt employees.

In addition, we would remind you that many cities, including the City of Los Angeles, have (or will have) even higher minimum-wage rates.  For example, the City of Los Angeles minimum wage increases to $16.04/hour on July 1, 2022; this rate applies to all employees who perform at least two hours of work a week within the City of Los Angeles.  Also, the City of West Hollywood minimum wage will increase to $16.00/hour on July 1, 2022, and then to $17.00/hour on January 1, 2023, and then to an estimated $18.86 on July 1, 2023, for employers with fewer than 50 employees, and to $16.50/hour on July 1, 2022, and then to $17.50/hour on January 1, 2023, and then to an estimated $18.86 on July 1, 2023, for employers with 50 or more employees.  (Hotel employees in West Hollywood have an even higher minimum wage.)  However, these local minimum-wage rates will not impact the state’s minimum salary rate for exempt employees.

Contact your SFSS&W attorney if you have any questions regarding the 2023 California minimum wage hike and its impact on your workplace.