Proposals to raise the minimum wage have been placed on the table at both the federal and state level. 

At the federal level, President Obama used his State of the Union address to unveil his plan to raise the federal minimum wage rate in stages to $9 an hour by 2015. The current federal minimum wage rate is $7.25 an hour.

At the state level, a California legislator introduced a bill (AB 10 - Alejo) to raise the minimum wage in stages to $9.25 an hour by 2016. The current minimum wage in California is $8 an hour. The bill also proposes to tie the minimum wage to the California Consumer Price Index beginning January 1, 2017. This would allow for annual upward adjustments to the minimum wage.

The bill, as currently drafted, would prohibit the state Industrial Welfare Commission from adjusting the minimum wage downward and from adjusting the minimum wage upward if the average percentage of inflation from the previous year was negative.

The federal proposal is also tied to inflation.

The federal minimum wage has not been adjusted since 2007. The state minimum wage was adjusted in 2008.

Reminder: Employers in San Jose must comply with a new city minimum wage ordinance effective March 11, 2013. The minimum wage rate for local businesses in San Jose will increase to $10 an hour.

San Francisco has had a higher minimum wage in effect since 2004. The current rate for employers with employees working in San Francisco is $10.55 an hour. Both San Francisco and San Jose have mandatory minimum wage posting requirements. These posters are available for purchase from HR Allen Consulting Services.

Author: Gail Cecchettini Whaley

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