California Raises Minimum Wage

In a move strongly opposed by the California Restaurant Association and other business lobbying groups, California lawmakers have approved an increase in the state’s minimum wage from $8 to $10 per hour by 2016.

The bill was approved Sept. 12 by the state Assembly following earlier approval by the state Senate. The $2-per-hour increase, which will occur in stages over 18 months, is California’s first minimum-wage increase in five years. Gov. Jerry Brown, who calls it long-overdue legislation, is expected to sign the bill.

The CRA says that a 25% wage hike will be the largest in state history and will cause “immense damage” to thousands of small businesses across the state.

The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, and California is reportedly among 19 states and the District of Columbia that have exceeded that level. At $9.19 per hour, Washington state has the highest minimum wage in the country.

Quick-service workers across the country have been staging strikes and protests in an effort to pressure restaurant chains to set minimum pay at $15 per hour and to give workers the ability to form unions.