California Minimum Wage To Get An Increase For 2022

CALIFORNIA — Workers making minimum in California are set to receive a bump in pay starting in January.

The state's current minimum wage is $13 an hour for companies with fewer than 25 employees and $14 for larger companies. Smaller companies will start paying $14 an hour beginning Jan. 1, 2022. Larger workplaces with more than 25 employees will pay $15 an hour.

Yearly increases to California's minimum wage have been in place since 2017, when the pay was bumped to $10 an hour for small companies and $10.50 for large companies. The last increase is scheduled for 2023, when small companies will be required to pay $15 an hour.

The federal minimum wage has not budged since being set at $7.25 an hour in 2009. However, state legislatures can enact their own wage increases and set higher minimums.

Currently, Washington, D.C., and 29 states have established higher minimum wages than the federal standard, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

California's minimum wage is the second highest in the country. Washington, D.C., has the highest with $15 an hour.

Counties and cities can establish even higher minimum wages than what is set at the state and federal levels.

Los Angeles County's minimum wage is $15 an hour for both small and large companies, while West Hollywood recently approved hiking its minimum wage to $17.64 — making it the highest in the country.

While some states have moved to establish higher minimum wages than the federal standard, some states have opted against raising wages.

Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee have not adopted a state minimum wage and follow the federal standard of $7.25, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Georgia and Wyoming have minimum wages below the federal standard. Both states' minimum wages are $5.15.