California's minimum wage bump for healthcare workers took effect Oct. 16, raising hourly pay for hundreds of thousands of employees.
Five notes:
1. About 322,000 healthcare workers will see wage increases, with average annual earnings increasing by an average of $6,4000 in the first year, according to estimates from the University of California at Berkeley Labor Center.
2. The minimum wage will increase to $18 an hour for employees at rural and independent facilities, and to $23 an hour for staff at hospitals that employ at least 10,000 workers, according to the state's Department of Industrial Relations.
3. About 76,000 additional workers will also see wage increases due to a ripple effect on those earning slightly more than the new minimum wage in the same facilities.
4. The law does not apply to employees at medical groups employing fewer than 25 physicians.
5. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the minimum wage bill into law last October, though its implementation was twice delayed amid state budget challenges.