Any California employer that has been in hiding the last six months or more may not be aware that California’s minimum wage increases to $9 per hour from the existing minimum wage of $8 per hour on July 1, 2014. In addition to paying more money to minimum wage hourly workers, the increase will impact other employee pay requirements. Specifically, minimum salary requirements for the administrative, executive or professional exemptions from overtime will increase to $3,120 per month (or $37,440 annually), from $2,773.33 per month (or $33,280 annually). Further, inside sales employees under Wage Orders 4 and 7 must earn more than 1.5 times the minimum wage each workweek, half of which earnings must be commissions, in order to be eligible for an overtime exemption.

For hourly wage earners, these changes in pay must be reflected in a written wage notice that California employers must provide pursuant to Labor Code Section 2810.5. In addition to providing the notice at the time of hire, the notice must also be given to the employee within seven calendar days after the employee’s pay rate is changed.

Finally, as we reminded employers in our January 21, 2014 blog posting, California employers should make sure they have posted the official Minimum Wage Order poster from the Industrial Welfare Commission (MW- 2014) in the employee lunch or break area or on the employee bulletin board.