California health care workers get a pay bump under a new minimum wage law
Some of the lowest-paid health care workers in California are getting a pay bump under a state law
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Some of the lowest-paid health care workers in California will get a pay bump Wednesday under a state law gradually increasing their wages to at least $25 an hour.
Workers at rural, independent health care facilities will start making a minimum of $18 an hour, while others at hospitals with at least 10,000 full-time employees will begin getting paid at least $23 an hour this week. The law will increase workers' pay over the next decade, with the $25 hourly rate kicking in sooner for some than others.
About 350,000 workers will have to be paid more under the law starting Wednesday, according to the University of California, Berkeley Labor Center.
“Today’s victory belongs to the workers who spoke passionately about the grueling work and the impact on patients when workers cover two or three jobs, whether on short-staffed nursing home floors, in hospital operating rooms, or at the front desks and phone lines of community clinics,” state Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, a Democrat who authored the law, said in a statement.
