California Creates a Second "Selective" Minimum Wage: Health Care Workers’ Minimum Wage Set to Increase to $25 an Hour -With Some Workers Receiving a Raise of $7.50 an Hour in 7 Months.

Employers beware! California’s legislature has now created “selective” minimum wage for employees working in two industries- fast food and (now) healthcare. California’s current state minimum wage is set at $15.50 an hour and will increase to $16.00 an hour in January of 2024- a mere 50 cents! Just weeks after California enacted a new law to increase the minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 an hour, California enacted a second law to increase the minimum wage for health care workers to $25 an hour. This second law gives some healthcare workers a pay raise of $7.50 an hour in only 7 months!

California's Controversial and Unprecedented New Law Creates "Selective" Minimum Wage For Fast Food Workers and Council to Oversee Franchise Owners.

California has enacted a new law that creates a “selective” minimum wage by creating a minimum wage only for fast food workers. In the span of less than seven months, California fast food workers will receive a $4.50 per hour pay increase. In January of 2024, all other California employees working for minimum wage will receive a pay increase of a mere $0.50 per hour. Fast food employees are clearly receiving a windfall, and fast food employers will now be forced to deal with added rules, regulation, and oversight due to the creation of the fast food council.

Update: Governor Vetoes SB 799 and Refuses to Pay Unemployment Benefits to (Employed) Workers Who Choose to Strike.

UPDATE: Governor Newsom recently vetoed California Senate Bill 799, which would have provided unemployment benefits to employees who were not laid off and, instead, were choosing to go on strike.

California Forces Employers to Increase the Number of Mandatory Paid Sick Days From Three to Five Days.

California employers, beware! On October 4, 2023, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 616 into law which requires employers to increase the number of mandatory paid sick days from 3 to 5 days. This new law will go into effect on January 1, 2024.

California Proposes Unemployment Benefits for Illegal Immigrants.

California’s legislature hopes to expand unemployment benefits to illegal immigrants who are unemployed. If Senate Bill 227 passes, employers may be forced to pay higher taxes to cover the increase in unemployment benefits being paid out. The new bill increases the pool of “unemployment benefits” applicants, allows undocumented employees meet a lower threshold for obtaining “unemployment benefits, and actively ignores the propensity for fraud in these instances.

Employers May be Forced to Pay Unemployment Benefits to the Employed (On Strike).

California employers may be forced to pay unemployment benefits to employees who are still employed but refuse to work because they are on strike. The California legislature is considering Senate Bill 799, which can have negative repercussions for various industries. First, it will give organized labor, an already powerful force in politics today, even more leverage and power. Second, it may cause more jobs to be left unfilled as many employees will be incentivized to strike. After all, they get paid during a strike, and they will (presumably) get paid MORE after a strike. Worst of all, the employers and employees who are not participating in the strikes are ultimately being forced to participate by paying increased taxes or receiving less in benefits.

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