Employers should post California’s recently issued 2017 minimum wage poster found at   https://www.dir.ca.gov/IWC/MW-2017.pdf .  The new poster reflects that the state minimum wage for employers with 26 or more employees increases to $10.50 on January 1, 2017, and to $11.00 on January 1, 2018.  For employers with 25 or fewer employees, the minimum wage remains at $10.00 until January 1, 2018, when it increases to $10.50.

The poster also contains 2017 and 2018 maximum lodging and meal credits that may be used to meet part of the employer’s minimum wage obligation for live-in employees.  For the first time, these credits vary based on the number of persons employed.  Note that any such credit for lodging and meals must be established by a voluntary written agreement.

As California employers know, California’s salary test for employees who meet additional qualifications to be exempt from overtime is tied to the state’s minimum wage.  Exempt employees must earn at least twice the state’s minimum wage for full-time employment.  With the increase in the minimum wage on January 1st to $10.50  per hour for larger employers, exempt employees of these employers must now earn an annual salary of at least $43,680. 

Employers should also know that a number of California cities, including Los Angeles and Santa Monica, as well as the County of Los Angeles (unincorporated areas), have enacted minimum wage laws that exceed the state minimum wage.  For example, in the City of Los Angeles and unincorporated areas of the County of Los Angeles, the minimum wage for employers with 26 or more employees is currently $10.50 and will increase to $12.00 on July 1, 2017, while for smaller employers, minimum wage will increase to $10.50 on July 1, 2017, and to $12.00 on July 1, 2018.  Employers subject to such local minimum wage laws must be sure to observe these laws, adjust salaries for exempt employees and posted any applicable local minimum wage notice.

This blog is presented under protest by the law firm of Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP.  It is essentially the random thoughts and opinions of someone who lives in the trenches of the war that often is employment law–he/she may well be a little shell-shocked.  So if you are thinking “woohoo, I just landed some free legal advice that will fix all my problems!”, think again.  This is commentary, people, a sketchy overview of some current legal issue with a dose of humor, but commentary nonetheless; as if Dennis Miller were a lawyer…and still mildly amusing.  No legal advice here; you would have to pay real US currency for that (unless you are my mom, and even then there are limits).  But feel free to contact us with your questions and comments—who knows, we might even answer you.  And if you want to spread this stuff around, feel free to do so, but please keep it in its present form (‘cause you can’t mess with this kind of poetry).  Big news: Copyright 2016.  All rights reserved; yep, all of them.

If you have any questions about this article, contact the writer directly, assuming he or she was brave enough to attach their name to it.  If you have any questions regarding this blog or your life in general, contact Kelly O. Scott, Esq., commander in chief of this blog and Head Honcho (official legal title) of ECJ’s Employment Law Department.