From PasadenaNOW: Minimum wage for hourly employees in California increased to $15.50 this week. While the pay increase applies to the entire state, some cities — Pasadena included — have higher minimum hourly wages already in place.
The hourly pay increase is part of California law that gradually raises the minimum wage from $10 an hour in 2017 to $15.50 an hour in 2023.
Last June, Pasadena adopted a Minimum Wage Ordinance which increased the minimum wage in Pasadena from $15.00 to $16.11.
Pasadena originally adopted its own minimum wage ordinance in 2016. In effect, the wage increased on July 1, 2016 to $10.50 and increased by $1.25 every year on July 1 until it reached $15 in 2020.
“Pasadena adopted its own minimum wage ordinance in 2016 with strong support from a variety of community and labor groups, as well as low wage earners and members of the immigrant community,” said Public Information Officer Lisa Derderian in June 2022.
“This most recent increase from $15.00 to $16.11 per hour was based upon the Consumer Price Index as set by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for all urban consumers for the Los Angeles/Long Beach/Riverside consolidated metropolitan statistical area.”
“Future modifications to the Pasadena minimum wage will similarly occur each July 1st and will also be pegged to the consumer price index.”
The CPI measures the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services.
Meanwhile, aside from Pasadena, the state wage increase will also not apply to Malibu, which has a minimum wage of $15.96 and West Hollywood, which has a minimum wage of $17.95, among other cities.
“In 2016, California passed a law to raise the minimum wage to $15.00 per hour statewide by 2022 for large businesses with 26 or more employees, and by 2023 for small businesses with 25 or fewer employees. This law increased the minimum wage over time, consistent with economic expansion while providing safety valves if adverse economic conditions emerged,” a release by the state’s Dept. of Industrial Relations said.
This past July, the California Department of Finance found that the inflation rate had increased by 7.9%, which required an increase in the minimum wage by 3.5%, resulting in the $15.50 per hour rate for 2023.