California lawmakers took action May 20 to officially push back the minimum wage increase for healthcare workers by one month, according to The Sacramento Bee.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill in October that ramped up minimum wage increases for healthcare workers to $18 per hour by June 1 and $25 per hour by June 1, 2028. The minimum wage increase is expected to cost around $4 billion for the 2024-25 fiscal year, which would further strain the state's financial situation. California is already facing an estimated $45 billion budget deficit, according to the report.
Lawmakers are working to develop an "urgency bill" that would delay the start of the first pay increases to July 1.
Mr. Newsom signaled he wanted to tie the minimum wage increases to funding availability in January when he released the state's proposed budget. Negotiations on how the pay increases will be implemented are ongoing, according to the report.