Healthcare Minimum Wage Law delayed

In a disappointing decision, the state of California has decided to delay the first year implementation of the Healthcare Minimum Wage Law. The law will now go into Oct. 16, 2024.

Raising wages for the lowest paid frontline healthcare workers is critical to addressing the staffing shortages in our hospitals and medical facilities that is leading to a patient care crisis. Delaying pay raises means the crisis gets worse with more and more healthcare workers leaving their jobs and fewer people applying for jobs in the field.

Key information about the delay

• Only the date for the initial implementation of the law has changed.
• The rest of the implementation timeline will remain the same (see below for updated timelines)
• If we won a higher minimum wage in our union contract, this delay to the state law will NOT change the timeline for you.
• For other employers who already raised their minimum pay, we will work to ensure they keep that pay rate in place.

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Workers covered

SB 525 covers all healthcare workers who provide services that directly or indirectly support patient care, including contracted workers. This includes clinicians, nurses, certified nursing assistants, aides, technicians, maintenance workers, janitorial or housekeeping staff, groundskeepers, guards, food service workers, laundry workers, and pharmacists, but does not include managers or supervisors.

Four groups with timelines to $25 wage

Find out which group your employer is in.

Under the new law, health facilities are organized into four different groups, each with their own timeline to bring workers up to a $25/hour minimum wage. Once each of those tiers reaches $25 per hour, the minimum wage will be annually adjusted for inflation or 3.5%, whichever is less.

Group 1 — Large health systems and hospitals and all dialysis clinics

Facilities that have more than 10,000 full time equivalent employees or are part of an integrated health system with that many. All dialysis clinics.
50% of hospitals are included in this group

Timeline for minimum wage increases
By Oct. 16, 2024— $23
July 2025 — $24
July 2026 — $25

 

Group 2 — Smaller health facilities

Facilities that have fewer than 10,000 full time equivalent employees, or are part of an integrated health system with fewer than 10,000.
40% of hospitals are included in this group

Timeline for minimum wage increases
By Oct. 16, 2024 — $21
July 2026 — $23
July 2028 — $25

 

Group 3 — Truly financially distressed

Hospitals with high Medi-Cal and Medicare payor patient populations (over 90%) and small rural independent hospitals.
Less than 10% of hospitals are in this group.

Timeline for minimum wage increases
By Oct. 16, 2024 — $18
July 2025 — Annual Increase of 3.5% until $25/hour is reached

 

Group 4 — Community clinics

All community and primary care clinics, including federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics, free clinics and intermittent clinics.
Covers an estimated 100,000 workers.

Timeline for minimum wage increases
By Oct. 16, 2024 — $21
July 2026 — $22
July 2027 — $25

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A historic achievement

The Healthcare Minimum Wage Law will lead to wage increases for more than 400,000 healthcare workers in California. It is the first $25 minimum wage in the country and also the first healthcare-specific minimum wage.

A real step forward in addressing short staffing in our facilities

For all the dedicated healthcare workers who are struggling to pay bills and support themselves and their families, higher pay will make a huge difference in their lives. Raising wages means that workers who were considering leaving can stay and new workers will be attracted by the higher base pay.

SEIU-UHW members made this happen

Starting in 2022, SEIU-UHW members led the way in pushing for a higher minimum wage for healthcare workers. We started by collecting signatures for city ballot initiatives and passed healthcare minimum wage laws in five cities. When four of them were put on hold by hospital executive-led referendum efforts, we took it to the state legislature with a statewide bill. Now our bill has become state law!

Workers covered

The new law covers all healthcare workers who provide services that directly or indirectly support patient care, including contracted workers. This includes clinicians, nurses, certified nursing assistants, aides, technicians, maintenance workers, janitorial or housekeeping staff, groundskeepers, guards, food service workers, laundry workers, and pharmacists, but does not include managers or supervisors.

 

 

Paid for by Service Employees International Union United Healthcare Workers West.
560 Thomas L Berkley Way, Oakland, CA 94611.