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Key Facts
- California state level: From January 1 through December 31, 2020, California’s minimum wage was $13 per hour for employers with 26 or more employees and $12 per hour for employers with 25 or fewer employees.
- California state level: The statewide tier depended on the employer’s workforce size, and part-time workers counted when determining that size.
- California state level: California did not permit an employer to use tips as a credit toward the minimum wage.
- California state level: The applicable minimum covered all hours worked even when pay was measured by piece, commission, or another method.
- California local level: A city or county minimum wage could be higher than the state rate, making the work location important to a historical 2020 calculation.
- California state level: A wage claim or lawsuit could provide a route to recover unpaid minimum wages, subject to the law and facts governing the claim.
California had two statewide minimum-wage rates in 2020. Employer size determined the state floor, while a higher city or county ordinance could control at a particular work location.
California used $13 and $12 statewide rates in 2020
Labor Code section 1182.12 set a $13 hourly minimum from January 1 through December 31, 2020, for an employer with 26 or more employees. The same statute set a $12 hourly minimum for an employer with 25 or fewer employees during that period.
These figures were one year in California’s phased increase under Senate Bill 3. They describe historical work in 2020, not the amount that applies to current pay periods.
The workforce count determined the state tier
The dividing line concerned the number of people employed, not whether one particular employee was full time or part time. California’s official phase-in guidance counted part-time workers, minors, salaried executives, and new hires when they performed compensable work and were not bona fide independent contractors.
The statute defined an employer to include a person who directly or indirectly employed someone or exercised control over wages, hours, or working conditions. That definition also included the state, its political subdivisions, and municipalities.
Workforce counts could require a closer factual analysis when staffing agencies, franchises, joint employers, parent companies, or fluctuating headcounts were involved. The 2020 rate question therefore was not always answered by the number appearing on one workplace schedule.
A local minimum could be higher
California cities and counties were allowed to enact their own minimum wages. When federal, state, and local laws all covered the work, the stricter applicable standard—the one more beneficial to the employee—controlled.
A sound historical comparison uses the local ordinance, coverage rules, and effective date that applied where the employee worked in 2020. A current municipal rate or a later amendment cannot be substituted for the rule in effect during the pay period being examined.
Tips stayed separate from the employer’s wage obligation
California Labor Code section 351 prohibited an employer from requiring an employee to credit any part of a gratuity against wages due. As a result, a covered tipped employee was entitled to the applicable California minimum wage from the employer in addition to tips left by patrons.
The current California minimum wage guide covers the modern statewide framework, while the minimum wage rules for servers provide broader tipped-worker context, but California Labor Code section 351 controlled the treatment of tips in this state.
The minimum applied across different pay methods
California wage orders required the applicable minimum for all hours worked in a payroll period whether compensation was measured by time, piece, commission, or another method. A commission plan or piece-rate formula therefore did not erase the hourly floor.
The wage orders also recognized a narrow learner rate. During the first 160 hours in an occupation in which the employee had no previous similar or related experience, a learner could be paid at least 85% of the applicable minimum, rounded to the nearest nickel.
That exception was based on occupational experience, not merely on being new to one employer. Other exemptions and special wage-order provisions depended on their own legal requirements.
Historical records connect the rule to a pay period
A historical 2020 review may involve time records, pay stubs, the employer’s workforce count, the physical work location, and the wage order covering the occupation. California’s Labor Commissioner identifies time records, paychecks, pay stubs, and notices showing the rate and method of pay as documents that can help explain a wage claim.
The Labor Commissioner’s process can address unpaid minimum wages. Labor Code section 1194 separately provides a civil action for the unpaid balance of minimum wages or overtime compensation, including interest, reasonable attorney fees, and costs of suit.
A historical calculation must use the 2020 rates and coverage rules rather than California’s current minimum wage.
