$15 minimum wage deal in California

A deal to raise California’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022 was reached last week by Gov. Jerry Brown and state legislators, making the nation's largest state the first to lift base earnings to that level and propelling a campaign to lift the pay floor nationally.

 

The increase will boost the wages of about 6.5 million California residents, or 43 percent of the state’s workforce, who earn less than $15, according to worker group Fight for $15. The proposal had been headed to a statewide referendum.