Minimum Wage Increase – Effective January 1, 2022
- On 8 December 2021
- Posted by Chantal Mariotti
Be Prepared – Minimum Wage Increases Effective January 1, 2022
As shared with us by HR Watchdog
California:
Effective January 1, 2022, the minimum wage rate for employers with
26 or more employees will increase to $15 per hour
25 or fewer employees will increase to $14 per hour.
Exempt Employees
In order to categorize an employee as “Exempt” (exempt from overtime), the employer must meet two tests. The “duties” test and the “wage” test.
Since the minimum wage is increasing for hourly employees, the threshold for exempt employees’ salaries has also increased. Effective 1/1/22, exempt employees must continue to earn “at minimum” double the minimum wage. Therefore, the minimum exempt salary will be:
26 or more employees – $62,400 per year
25 or fewer employees – $58,240 per year
For the past several years, certain local governments have implemented their own minimum wage rates for work performed within their cities. The city of West Hollywood is the latest city to do so, enacting their own minimum wage ordinance (MWO) that takes effect January 1, 2022. The West Hollywood MWO sets minimum wage rates depending on the size of the employer’s workforce. The following tables set forth the rates and scheduled increases in the MWO.
| Effective Date | Minimum Wage – 26 Employees or More |
| 1/1/2022 | $15.50 |
| 7/1/2022 | $16.50 |
| 1/1/2023 | $17.50 |
| Effective Date | Minimum Wage – 25 Employees or Less |
| 1/1/ 2022 | $15.00 |
| 7/1/2022 | $16.00 |
| 1/1/2023 | $17,00 |
Required Postings
Each minimum wage ordinance also has notice and posting requirements, and with the new increases come new 2022 posters that must be displayed in workplaces subject to the local ordinances (the city in which your employees work — whether at your facilities, remotely from their homes or while traveling — determines which required local ordinances posters apply to your business).
Other City Increases – Effective January 1, 2022:
| Belmont | 16.20 |
| Burlingame | 15.60 |
| Cupertino | 16.40 |
| Daly City | 15.53 |
| East Palo Alto | 15.60 |
| El Cerrito | 16.37 |
| Half Moon Bay | $15.56 |
| Hayward | $15.56 for employers with 26 employees or more
$14.42 for employers with 25 or fewer employees |
| Los Altos | $16.40 |
| Menlo Park | $15.75 |
| Mountain View | $17.10 |
| Novato | $15.77 for employers with 100 employees or more
$15.53 for employers with 26 – 99 employees $15.00 for employers with 25 or fewer employees |
| Oakland | $15.60 |
| Palo Alto | $16.45 |
| Petaluma | $15.85 |
| Redwood City | $16.20 |
| Richmond | $15.54 |
| San Carlos | $15.77 |
| San Diego | $15.00 |
| San Jose | $16.20 |
| San Mateo | $16.20 |
| Santa Clara | $16.40 |
| Santa Rosa | $15.85 |
| Sonoma | $16.00 for employers with 26 or more employees
$15.00 for employers with 25 or fewer employees |
| South San Francisco | $15.80 |
| Sunnyvale | $17.10 |
| West Hollywood | $15.50 for employers with 26 or more employees
$15.00 for employers with 25 or fewer employees |
