Workers across the country are preparing to relax and take time off this Labor Day holiday. To keep you informed, The Sacramento Bee has compiled a list of up-to-date state wage and labor laws to make sure you know your rights and entitlements as a worker in California.
California’s minimum wage was raised to $16.90 an hour at the start of 2026 — an increase of 40 cents. The wage increases automatically yearly through a state formula that accounts for inflation, and it is set to rise to $17.40 starting on Jan. 1, 2027.
In comparison, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour and has not changed since 2009.
Since 2024, the minimum wage for fast food workers of chains with more than 60 locations nationwide has been $20. The law that put that wage in effect, Assembly Bill 1228, also created a Fast Food Council to determine future minimum wage increases and to establish other employment standards at fast food restaurants.
Certain California health care workers can earn a higher minimum wage ranging up to $25 an hour, depending on the facility where they work.
20 California cities and counties have higher minimum wages than the state’s — mostly in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Los Angeles metropolitan area. They range from $17.34 an hour in Oakland to $20.34 an hour in Emeryville.
California has the highest minimum wage of any state in the nation; Washington D.C. has the highest minimum wage overall at $18.40 an hour. However, the state’s minimum...
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