How Much Could You Make a Year on Minimum Wage in California?
California's minimum wage laws give you, as an employee, the security of knowing your employer cannot reduce your wages below a certain level. Whether the minimum wage is in fact a livable wage, however, probably depends on your circumstances and expenses. Working a significant number of overtime hours would significantly increase your take-home pay.
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Basics
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Starting in 2008 and continuing into 2011, California's minimum wage is $8 an hour. Assuming a 40-hour workweek, which is standard, your weekly gross wages would be $320 and your yearly wages would be $16,640. Obviously those figures could change. Your employer might not give you 40 hours of work every week, for example, and you might need to take days or weeks off without pay unless your employer has a policy of providing paid time off such as vacations and sick leave.
Overtime
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California labor laws count as overtime any labor in excess of eight hours a day or 40 hours a week. In accordance with the laws, your employer must pay 1.5 times your regular wage for all overtime hours. If you make the minimum wage and work 50 hours one week, as an example, your hourly rate for the final 10 hours would be $12. You also receive 1.5 times your regular pay rate for any time you put in during a seventh consecutive day of work in a particular workweek. Furthermore, you receive double your usual pay for time worked beyond 12 hours per day and eight hours on your seventh consecutive day of work in a particular workweek. Thus, overtime hours can significantly increase your total annual pay.
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Calculations
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In 2011, California's minimum wage is among the more generous in the nation. It is higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour and trails only seven other states, with Washington leading the way at $8.67 an hour. Of course, a higher minimum wage might not go as far as lower wages in other states. California's cost of living is among the highest in the nation, according to fourth-quarter 2010 metrics, trailing only Alaska, Washington, D.C., and Hawaii.
Considerations
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If you make the minimum wage and find your pay is not sufficient for basic living expenses, you might be eligible for public assistance such as food stamps. Gross income limits for the food stamp program, officially known as CalFresh, are 130 percent of the federal poverty level per household size. In a full-time minimum wage job, you would make about $1,280 a month. If your family has no other income, you would qualify for food stamps based on gross income limits for all family sizes except single-person households.
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References
- California Department of Industrial Relations: Minimum Wage
- California Department of Industrial Relations: Overtime
- United States Department of Labor: Minimum Wage Laws in the States -- January 1, 2011
- Missouri Economic Research and Information Center: Cost of Living Data Series: 4th Quarter 2010
- California Department of Social Services: Eligibility and Issuance Requirements
- USDA Food and Nutrition Service: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Eligibility
Resources
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