Under California Senate Bill 525, employers in the state’s health care industry are subject to a separate minimum wage from other employers.
Effective July 1, certain health care facilities will see an increase in their minimum wage rates. The following is a summary of the increases based on the type of employer.
Types of Health Care Employers
|
Current Rate
|
Increased Rate
|
Hospitals or integrated health systems with 10,000 or more full-time employees, including skilled nursing facilities operated by these employers
|
$23
|
$24
|
Dialysis clinics
|
$23
|
$24
|
Covered health care facilities run by large counties with more than 5 million people as of Jan. 1, 2023
|
$23
|
$24
|
Hospitals with 90% or more of their patients paid for by Medicare or Medi-Cal
|
$18
|
$18.63
|
Independent hospitals with 75% or more of their patients paid for by Medicare or Medi-Cal
|
$18
|
$18.63
|
Rural independent covered health care facilities
|
$18
|
$18.63
|
Covered health care facilities run by small counties with fewer than 250,000 people
|
$18
|
$18.63
|
Several categories of health care employees will receive a minimum wage increase in July 2025, but workers in the following categories will not have a minimum wage increase until July 2026:
Intermittent clinics, community clinics, rural health clinics, or urgent care clinics associated with community or rural health clinics.
Covered health care facilities run by midsize counties (250,000 to 5 million people as of Jan. 1, 2023).
Skilled nursing facilities not owned, operated, or controlled by a hospital, integrated health care delivery system, or health care system.
All other covered health care facilities not listed in the other categories and not run by counties.
Who Is Covered?
The definition of “health care employee” is broad, encompassing a wide range of roles within health care facilities. This includes employees who provide patient care, health care services, or services supporting the provision of health care. Examples of covered roles include:
Nurses
Physicians
Caregivers
Medical residents, interns, or fellows
Patient care technicians
Janitors
Housekeeping staff
Groundskeepers
Guards
Clerical workers
Nonmanagerial administrative workers
Food service workers
Gift shop workers
Technical and ancillary services workers
Medical coding and billing personnel
Schedulers
Call center and warehouse workers
Laundry workers
Jonathan A. Siegel is an attorney with Jackson Lewis in Orange County, Calif. Allen F. Acosta is an attorney with Jackson Lewis in Los Angeles. © 2025 Jackson Lewis. All rights reserved. Reposted with permission.
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