California Today: The statewide minimum wage is now $16 an hour

The state has one of the country's highest hourly minimum wages.

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story January 2, 2024 By Soumya Karlamangla California Today, Writer It's Tuesday. California's statewide minimum wage is now $16 an hour. Plus, a federal appeals court ruling allows a new California gun law to take effect. Under a law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in the fall, minimum hourly pay in one industry, fast-food restaurants, will rise to $20 an hour in California. Allison Dinner/EPA, via Shutterstock Wages just went up for thousands of Californians. As of yesterday, the state's overall minimum wage is now $16 an hour, up from $15.50. That is the second-highest statewide minimum in the nation, trailing only Washington at $16.28 (the District of Columbia's is higher still, at $17 an hour). The latest increase in California is an inflation adjustment, and it builds off a 2016 state law that incrementally raised the minimum wage to $15 from $10. The 50-cent bump affects approximately one million workers, or about 6 percent of the state's work force, according to Michael Reich, an economics professor at the University of California, Berkeley. The impact is relatively limited, he told me, because falling unemployment over the past year has already led to significant wage growth in low-paying jobs, reducing the number of people making the statewide minimum wage. Another factor: Roughly a third of California's workers live in cities and counties with wage ordinances that set higher minimums than the state's, including Los Angeles ($16.78 an hour), San Jose ($17.55) and Oakland ($16.50). Indeed, 40 California cities and counties require employers to pay wages above the $16 an hour required by the state. Twenty-eight of those municipalities raised their minimums on Jan. 1. West Hollywood currently has the nation's highest minimum wage, at $19.08 an hour. (My colleague Kurtis Lee recently wrote about how this has caused some angst for local businesses.) Mountain View, Emeryville, Sunnyvale, Berkeley and San Francisco all require between $18 and $19 an hour, rounding out the top six in California. Even so, these rates fall short of providing a living wage, experts say. In Los Angeles County, for example, two working adults with one child would each have to make $23.98 an hour to afford their basic needs, according to M.I.T.'s Living Wage Calculator. "Our minimum-wage laws are still lower than what workers need to really get by," Ken Jacobs, co-chair of the U.C. Berkeley Labor Center, told me. "These higher minimum wages have made a real difference in workers' lives, but I think one of the reasons you're now seeing a push for taking those wage levels higher is to address the increased cost of living in California." To tackle that problem, Gov. Gavin Newsom approved laws in the fall that require major pay bumps, above the statewide minimum, in two industries that employ large chunks of the state's work force. One will raise the minimum wage for all health care workers in California to $25 an hour by 2028; the other increases minimum hourly pay for fast-food workers to $20 an hour. The health-care minimums will begin to increase in June, with the size of the raise dependent on the employer and job type. The new minimum for fast-food workers takes effect in April. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT If you read one story, make it this What if farmers had to pay for water? We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a series of gun safety measures, including Senate Bill 2, into law in September. Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press The rest of the news A federal appeals court allowed California's ban on the carrying of firearms in most public places to take effect in 2024, halting a lower court judge's ruling that had blocked enforcement of the law. A mainstay of cargo transportation, trucks that run on carbon fuels like diesel and gasoline, will be phased out at California's seaports in favor of nonpolluting truck types. Southern California George Gascón, who is running for re-election as the Los Angeles district attorney, has to tap into different emotions to compete in a very different political climate. Les McCann, a jazz pianist and vocalist who was a progenitor of the bluesy, crowd-pleasing style that came to be known as soul jazz, died on Friday in Los Angeles. He was 88. Central California Restaurants in Fresno struggled to stay in business in 2023, with more than two dozen facing challenges that forced them to close, The Fresno Bee reports. Northern California A BART train derailed and caught fire on Monday just after leaving the Orinda station, resulting in several minor injuries to passengers, The Associated Press reported. Mychal Threets, a librarian who works at the Fairfield Civic Center Library in Solano County, has taken to social media to dispel the belief that libraries are humorless places. Montgomery Street in San Francisco, home to the revamped Transamerica Pyramid as well as a small public radio station broadcasting from a former copy shop, offers hope for recovery in the city. Red Rock Island, a big outcropping several miles from San Francisco, has been listed for $25 million. A visit finds, well, not much. WHAT YOU GET Courtesy of Carmel Realty Company What You Get $4.5 Million Homes in California A Tudor Revival cottage in Carmel, an equestrian compound in the San Fernando Valley once owned by Patrick Swayze and a waterfront house in Huntington Beach. By Angela Serratore Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT WHAT WE'RE EATING Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks. Mussels and Cod Bucatini With Spicy Tomato Sauce By Dan Pelosi About 1 hour Makes 8 to 12 servings The beach in front of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, known as the Pink Palace of the Pacific, is dotted with its signature pink-and-white umbrellas, as well as those of newer hotels. Marco Garcia for The New York Times Where we're traveling Why one writer is still in love with Waikiki. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Tell us What are you looking forward to in 2024? Milestone birthdays, travel to new places, picking up a new hobby? Tell us your hopes for the new year at CAtoday@nytimes.com. Please include your full name and the city in which you live. The Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento. Rozette Halvorson for The New York Times And before you go, some good news Though Sacramento has sometimes played second fiddle to the buzzy Bay Area cities of Northern California, the capital is flourishing, The Wall Street Journal reports. The city, once the heart of gold rush migration, has been reanimated in recent years by a growing and internationally recognized music scene, Michelin-star-studded restaurants and an array of galleries, bars and late-night doughnut shops beloved by visitors and residents. Four "in the know" Sacramento residents, including Ruthie Bolton, a former player for the Sacramento Monarchs of the W.N.B.A., spoke to the newspaper about their favorite places in the city. The result is a collage of the city's greatest gems, including parks, cafes and a farm that doubles as a brewery. For visitors seeking a slightly different Northern California flavor, this list is your guide. Thanks for reading. I'll be back tomorrow. — Soumya P.S. Here's today's Mini Crossword. Maia Coleman, Briana Scalia and Bernard Mokam contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at CAtoday@nytimes.com. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Continue reading the main story Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for California Today from The New York Times. To stop receiving California Today, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018