The state legislature has passed AB 10, a bill to raise the minimum wage to $9 per hour on July 1, 2014 and to $10 per hour on January 1, 2016. Governor Brown previously announced that he intends to sign the bill.

The state minimum wage is currently $8 per hour. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. Because California is one of few states that lets cities set their own minimum wages, San Francisco has the highest minimum wage in the country at $10.55. Some articles report that Santa Cruz has a higher minimum wage, but it only applies to those working on contracts with the city and has numerous exceptions.

As I’ve said before, I don’t begrudge anyone the right to earn a living. But who benefits if the net effect may be fewer jobs for the state’s workers?

Employers reviewing their payroll practices in anticipation of this change should remember that it affects not only nonexempt workers, but also those working under the administrative, professional, and executive exemptions in California (who must earn a salary equivalent to at least two times the state minimum wage for full-time employment to qaulify for the exemption).

Update: Governor Brown signed the legislation on September 25, 2013.

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