California’s new Health Care Minimum wage will go into effect on October 16, 2024, and numerous health care facilities across the state will need to ensure they are paying the applicable minimum wages, which range from $18 to $23 per hour, depending on the type of facility.
In 2023, California enacted SB 525, which established a new healthcare-specific minimum wage with various phase-in schedules based on the classification of different types of health care facility.
The law applies broadly to “covered health care employees,” defined as employees of a health care facility employer who provide patient care, health care services, or services supporting the provision of health care. This includes, but is not limited to, employees performing work in the occupation of a nurse, physician, caregiver, medical resident, intern or fellow, patient care technician, janitor, housekeeping, staff person, groundskeeper, guard, clerical worker, nonmanagerial administrative worker, food service worker, gift shop worker, technical and ancillary services worker, medical coding and medical billing personnel, scheduler, call center and warehouse worker, and laundry worker, regardless of formal job title.
Although the new minimum wage was originally scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2024, the state delayed implementation earlier this year, but did not define a specific effective date. Instead, the effective date would be determined by various factors related to the California Department of Health Care Services’ budget and data retrieval related to hospital quality assurance fees. The Labor Commissioner recently announced that the law will go into effect on October 16, 2024.
The Labor Commissioner has published extensive FAQs about the new law that you can access here: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/Health-Care-Worker-Minimum-Wage-FAQ.htm. In addition, the Labor Commissioner has shared the following chart with effective dates for the phased-in minimum wage increases based on facility type:
|
Health Care Worker Minimum Wage Increases by Type of Health Care Facility |
||
|
Type of Health Care Facility |
Minimum Wage when the law takes effect |
Full Minimum Wage Schedule |
|
Hospital or integrated health system with 10,000 or more full-time employees (including skilled nursing facilities operated by these employers) |
$23 |
10/16/24 to 6/30/25: $23 |
|
Dialysis Clinics |
$23 |
10/16/24 to 6/30/25: $23 |
|
Safety Net Hospitals |
$18 |
10/16/24 to 6/30/25: $18 |
|
Intermittent clinics, community clinics, rural health clinics, or urgent care clinics associated with community or rural health clinics |
$21 |
10/16/24 to 6/30/26: $21 |
|
All other covered health care facilities not listed in the other categories and not run by Counties |
$21 |
10/16/24 to 6/30/26: $21 |
|
Covered Health Care Facilities run by Large Counties (more than five million people as of 1/1/23) |
$23 (no earlier than 1/1/25) |
1/1/25 to 6/30/25: $23 |
|
Covered Health Care Facilities run by Medium Sized Counties (250,000 to five million people as of 1/1/23) |
$21 (no earlier than 1/1/25) |
1/1/25 to 6/30/26: $21 |
|
Covered Health Care Facilities run by Small Counties (less than 250,000 people as of 1/1/23) |
$18 (no earlier than 1/1/25) |
1/1/25 to 6/30/25: $18 |
|
Skilled Nursing facilities not owned, operated, or controlled by a hospital, integrated health care delivery system, or health care system: |
No effective date |
Schedule if a patient care minimum spending requirement is passed: |
If you have questions about how this new law will affect your business or advice about how to implement these new requirements, please contact us.
Wilson Turner Kosmo’s Special Alerts are intended to update our valued clients on significant employment law developments as they occur. This should not be considered legal advice.