Governor Schwarzenegger
has proposed hiking the
minimum wage by $1 per hour to $7.75, calling for a 50 cent increase in
September 2006 and another one in July 2007. Interestingly, in 2005 Gov.
Schwarzenegger vetoed legislation containing a similar minimum wage increase.
The new proposal was
unveiled during the governor’s recent
of the State address. The wage hike is one piece of the governor’s sweeping Strategic
Growth Plan for the state, aimed at investing in
education, water, public safety, and public service infrastructure. Increasing
the state’s minimum wage, said the governor, could boost the paychecks of two
million of
lowest wage earners by more than $2 billion.
The HR Management & Compliance Report: How To Comply with California Wage & Hour Law, explains everything you need to know to stay in compliance with the state’s complex and ever-changing rules, laws, and regulations in this area. Coverage on bonuses, meal and rest breaks, overtime, alternative workweeks, final paychecks, and more.
$6.75 per hour, is the sixth highest state minimum wage in the nation—the
proposed hike would propel
minimum wage to the highest in the nation. The federal minimum wage stands at
$5.15.
private employees must be paid at least the state minimum wage. Exemptions,
which are few, are limited to outside salespeople, close relatives of the employer,
and certain white-collar personnel. Further, all employers must post these
minimum wage notices in the workplace: 1) California Minimum Wage Order (Form
MW-2001), available from the Department of Industrial Relations at www.dir.ca.gov/WP.asp ; and 2) “Your
Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act” (WH 1088), available from the U.S. Department
of Labor.