California’s minimum wage is $16.90 per hour as of January 1, 2026, and it applies to every employer in the state regardless of size.1California Department of Industrial Relations. Minimum Wage That’s the floor. Fast food workers, healthcare workers, and employees in dozens of cities with their own ordinances earn more, and California’s rules on overtime, tips, and split shifts often push actual take-home pay above the posted rate.
The statewide rate adjusts automatically each year. The Director of Finance compares the U.S. Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers from one July-to-June period to the next, and if prices rose, the minimum wage increases by the lesser of 3.5 percent or the actual inflation rate, rounded to the nearest ten cents. The new rate is finalized by August 1 and takes effect the following January 1.2California Legislative Information. California Labor Code LAB 1182.12 If inflation goes negative, the rate stays flat rather than dropping.
Higher Rates for Fast Food and Healthcare Workers
Two industries have their own wage schedules well above the state floor.
Fast food employees earn at least $20.00 per hour under AB 1228, effective April 1, 2024.3Department of Industrial Relations. Fast Food Council The law covers workers at limited-service restaurants that are part of a chain with at least 60 locations nationwide. A limited-service restaurant is one where customers order and pay before eating, which excludes traditional sit-down restaurants with full table service.4California Department of Industrial Relations. Fast Food Minimum Wage Frequently Asked Questions The Fast Food Council created by the same law can recommend further increases of up to 3.5 percent per year.
Healthcare workers are covered by SB 525, which phases in rates that vary by facility type. For 2026, the schedule looks like this:5California Department of Industrial Relations. Health Care Worker Minimum Wage Frequently Asked Questions
- Large health systems (10,000+ employees), dialysis clinics, and large-county facilities in counties over 5 million people: $24.00 per hour through June 30, 2026, then $25.00 on July 1.
- Other covered non-county facilities and medium-county facilities (250,000 to 5 million people): $21.00 through June 30, 2026, then $23.00.
- Community clinics, rural health clinics, and related urgent care clinics: $21.00 through June 30, 2026, then $22.00.
- Safety net hospitals and small-county facilities: $18.63 through June 30, 2026, then $19.28.
“Healthcare worker” is defined much more broadly than clinical staff. It also covers janitorial, food service, laundry, security, billing, call center, and gift shop workers employed at a covered facility.5California Department of Industrial Relations. Health Care Worker Minimum Wage Frequently Asked Questions If you work inside a covered healthcare building in almost any role, the healthcare rate likely applies.
Local City and County Rates
Dozens of California cities and counties set their own minimum wages above the state rate. Employers must pay whichever rate is highest. Local rates in 2026 range from just above $16.90 in some smaller cities to over $20.00 in West Hollywood. Several Bay Area cities cluster in the $18.00 to $19.70 range, including Mountain View, Sunnyvale, San Jose, Berkeley, and Emeryville. Los Angeles and San Diego have their own rates above the state floor.
Many local ordinances update on July 1 rather than January 1, so employers track two adjustment calendars. Local wage laws generally apply to anyone performing work within the city’s boundaries, even when the employer is based elsewhere. Employers must post the applicable local wage notice next to the state minimum wage poster.
Overtime at the Minimum Wage
California requires overtime based on daily hours, not just weekly totals:6California Department of Industrial Relations. Overtime
- Over 8 hours in a day and up to 12: 1.5 times your regular rate.
- Over 12 hours in a day: double your regular rate.
- Seventh consecutive day in a workweek: 1.5 times for the first 8 hours, double time after that.
At $16.90, time-and-a-half is $25.35 per hour and double time is $33.80. An employer cannot ask you to waive overtime, and any agreement to accept a lower rate is unenforceable. Workers in cities with higher local minimums calculate overtime off that higher local rate.
Tips, Meals, Lodging, and Uniforms
California prohibits employers from counting tips toward the minimum wage. Every employee gets the full $16.90 per hour (or the applicable higher rate) directly from the employer, with tips on top. Employers cannot deduct credit card processing fees from tips paid by card, and gratuities belong entirely to the employee or employees they were left for.7California Legislative Information. California Labor Code LAB 351 This is one of the sharpest differences between California and states that follow the federal tip credit model.
Employers can credit meals or lodging against the minimum wage, but only with a voluntary written agreement signed by the employee, and the amounts are capped. As of January 1, 2026:8California Department of Industrial Relations. California Minimum Wage MW-2026
- Room occupied alone: $79.46 per week.
- Shared room: $65.59 per week.
- Apartment: two-thirds of ordinary rental value, capped at $954.43 per month.
- Breakfast: $6.10. Lunch: $8.42. Dinner: $11.28.
The maximum credit for a private room works out to roughly $345 per month, which is a fraction of actual housing costs in most of California. The caps are designed to stop employers from clawing back the minimum wage through inflated room-and-board charges.
When an employer requires a specific uniform, tools, or equipment as a condition of employment, the employer must provide and maintain those items. No deduction from wages, no charges for normal wear and tear, breakage, or loss, regardless of how much the employee earns.
Split Shift and Reporting Time Premiums
If your employer schedules you for a split shift, meaning your workday is interrupted by a block of unpaid non-working time longer than a meal break, you’re owed a premium equal to one hour of pay at the minimum wage. Any amount you earn above the applicable minimum wage on that day gets credited against the premium, so higher-paid workers may not see an additional payment. If you request the break yourself, it doesn’t count.9Department of Industrial Relations. Split Shift The premium must appear as a separate line item on your pay stub.
When you show up for a scheduled shift and your employer sends you home early or gives you less than half your usual hours, you’re entitled to reporting time pay. That’s half the hours you were scheduled, with a minimum of two hours and a maximum of four at your regular rate. If you’re called back for a second shift the same day and given less than two hours of work, you’re owed two hours for that second reporting.10Department of Industrial Relations. Reporting Time Pay Exceptions apply for natural disasters, utility failures, and other events outside the employer’s control.
Who Is Exempt From the Minimum Wage
Employees in executive, administrative, or professional roles can be exempt from both minimum wage and overtime, but only if they pass two tests. First, they must earn a fixed monthly salary equal to at least twice the state minimum wage for full-time work. For 2026, that threshold is $70,304 per year.11California Department of Industrial Relations. California’s Minimum Wage Set to Increase to $16.90 Per Hour on January 1, 2026 Second, the employee’s primary duties must involve managing a department, exercising independent judgment on significant business matters, or performing work requiring advanced knowledge in a specialized field.12California Legislative Information. California Labor Code LAB 515 “Primary” means more than half of working time. If either test fails, the employee is non-exempt and entitled to hourly pay and overtime.
Outside salespersons who spend more than half their working time away from the employer’s premises making sales or obtaining orders are exempt. The analysis looks at actual hours, not job titles, so an employer can’t apply this label to someone who mostly works from a desk.
Employees during their first 160 hours in a new occupation, where they have no prior related experience, may be paid 85 percent of the minimum wage. At the 2026 rate, that’s $14.37 per hour. Registered apprentices under the state Division of Apprenticeship Standards follow separate pay schedules.
Independent Contractor Classification
Whether you’re entitled to the minimum wage at all depends on whether you’re an employee or an independent contractor. California uses the ABC test in Labor Code Section 2775. A worker is presumed to be an employee unless the hiring business proves all three of these conditions:13California Legislative Information. California Labor Code LAB 2775
- A. The worker controls how and when the work gets done, on paper and in practice.
- B. The work falls outside the company’s core business activities.
- C. The worker has their own established business or trade of the same type.
Failing even one prong means the worker is an employee entitled to minimum wage, overtime, and other protections. Certain licensed professionals, including doctors, lawyers, architects, accountants, and real estate agents, are evaluated under a different, more flexible standard called the Borello test.14Franchise Tax Board. Worker Classification and AB 5 Frequently Asked Questions
Willful misclassification carries civil penalties of $5,000 to $15,000 per violation, or $10,000 to $25,000 per violation if it’s part of a pattern.15California Legislative Information. California Labor Code LAB 226.8 Those are on top of back wages, liquidated damages, and any tax penalties from the Employment Development Department.
What to Do If You’re Underpaid
California stacks multiple penalties for wage violations. An employer who pays less than the minimum wage owes:
- The full difference between what was paid and what was owed.
- Liquidated damages equal to the unpaid wages, plus interest. A court can reduce or eliminate these only if the employer proves the underpayment was a good-faith mistake.
- Civil penalties of $100 per underpaid employee per pay period for a first intentional violation, and $250 per employee per pay period for each subsequent violation.16California Legislative Information. California Labor Code LAB 1197.1
- Waiting time penalties when an employer fails to pay all wages owed at separation: one day’s pay for each day the wages remain unpaid, up to 30 calendar days. Inability to pay is not a defense.17California Department of Industrial Relations. Waiting Time Penalty
You can file a wage claim with the Labor Commissioner’s Office (the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement). After you file, the office investigates and typically schedules a settlement conference. If that fails, the case moves to a Berman hearing, where a hearing officer reviews evidence and issues a decision.18Department of Industrial Relations. How to File a Wage Claim
Deadlines matter. For minimum wage, overtime, and illegal deduction claims, you have three years from the date of the violation to file. Claims based on an oral promise to pay above minimum wage have a two-year deadline; claims based on a written contract have four years.19Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). Recover Your Unpaid Wages With the Labor Commissioner’s Office Either side can appeal a hearing officer’s decision within 10 days.
Before you file, pull your pay stubs. California requires employers to itemize gross wages, total hours worked, all deductions, net wages, pay period dates, every hourly rate in effect during the period with corresponding hours at each rate, and the employer’s legal name and address.20California Legislative Information. California Labor Code LAB 226 Compare each stub against the hours you actually worked and the applicable minimum wage for your industry and city. An inaccurate or missing stub is itself a violation that can trigger separate penalties.