Update Applicable to:
All employers in the state of California.
What happened?
On July 7, 2022, the California Living Wage Act failed to collect enough signatures to qualify for the November 2022 ballot.
What are the details?
Backed by numerous labor organizations, the ballot initiative entitled the “California Living Wage Act of 2022” proposed increasing the California minimum wage over the next three years. The initiative would require California employers with 26 or more employees to pay minimum wage rates of $16 by 2023, $17 in 2024, and $18 by 2025.
The proposition was intended to be put before California voters in November 2022. It proposed to continue the State’s stair-step increase of the minimum wage as follows:
| Year | Employers with 25 or Fewer Employees | Employers with 26 or More Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $15.00 per hour | $16.00 per hour |
| 2024 | $16.00 per hour | $17.00 per hour |
| 2025 | $17.00 per hour | $18.00 per hour |
| 2026 | $18.00 per hour | $18.00 per hour |
However, this proposed timeline will now need to be adjusted as The Living Wage Act failed to qualify for the 2022 ballot due to the late submission of verified signatures to the California Secretary of State. The Proposition has been cleared for the 2024 ballot.
Advocates of the measure filed a lawsuit pushing to place the Proposition on the 2022 ballot, but the court found the proponents’ arguments “unpersuasive.”
For more information, please see the links below:
What do employers need to do?
Employers should review the links above and look for new updates regarding the California Living Wage Act.
