California’s robust and lucrative market is also an expensive one, and that cost is increasing. California’s recent minimum wage increase will, over 18 months, create the highest state minimum wage in U.S. history, by 2023 at $15 per hour. Further, many of California’s employee-friendly cities and local governments have enacted local wage ordinances that exceed or differ from statewide requirements, making the decision of where to do business in California increasingly complex.
Local wage ordinances include a variety of implementation schedules, rates, possible exclusions, covered entities and employees, as well as different posting and notification requirements to create a minefield for employers. These very real costs and complications should be considered as part of every California employer’s decision of where to do business in California.
