A tentative deal has been reached between lawmakers and labor unions to raise the minimum wage in California to $10.50 per hour next year, and then gradually increase to $15.
The deal was confirmed by sources familiar with the negotiations, according to the Los Angeles Times. The sources want to remain unidentified because Gov. Jerry Brown will not be making the formal announcement of the deal until as early as March 28.
The Los Angeles Times has acquired a document, which states that the minimum wage in California will increase from $10 per hour to $10.50 per hour beginning Jan. 1, 2017. The minimum wage will then have another 50-cent increase to $11.00 on Jan. 1, 2018, before continuing with increases of $1 per year until 2022.
The document also stated that for businesses that have less than 25 employees, they will be given an extra year before being required to comply, delaying the $15 per hour minimum wage until 2023.
The statewide minimum wage increase will give the most populous state the country's highest minimum pay floor. The current $10 per hour minimum wage is already among the highest among all states, with some cities in California having set minimum wages at higher amounts. In the middle of last year, Los Angeles joined the list of cities in the United States that have approved a gradual minimum wage hike to $15.
Advocates for the proposal praised have praised the said approval, claiming that it represents a massive victory that could lead to the rise of similar efforts across the country.
"This is a very big deal," said National Employment Law Project General Counsel's Director Paul K. Sonn. "It would mean a raise for one of every three workers in the state," Sonn added.
Brown, who has previously signed an increase to minimum wage in 2013, initially resisted several efforts to discuss another minimum wage increase. However, labor unions said that they would be willing to take the issue to voters if the proposal was not considered.
