Rancho Mesa's Alyssa Burley and Media Communications & Client Services Coordinator Megan Lockhart discuss minimum wage increases.
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Director/Host: Alyssa Burley
Guest: Megan Lockhart
Producer/Editor: Lauren Stumpf
Music: "Home" by JHS Pedals, “News Room News” by Spence
© Copyright 2023. Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc. All rights reserved.
Transcript
[Introduction Music]
Alyssa Burley: Hi! This is Alyssa Burley with Rancho Mesa’s Media Communications and Client Services Department. Thank you for listening to today’s top Rancho Mesa news brought to you by our safety and risk management network, StudioOne™. Welcome back, everyone. My guest is Megan Lockhart, Media Communications and Client Services Coordinator with Rancho Mesa. Today, we’re going to chat about minimum wage increases. Megan, welcome to the show.
Meghan Lockhart: Yeah, thanks for having me.
AB: So, we’re wrapping up the second quarter of 2023 and many employers and employees are anticipating an increase in the minimum wage. Now, minimum wages can be tricky. There is a Federal minimum wage, individual state minimum wages, and local jurisdiction minimum wages. So, potentially each municipality could have a different minimum wage that employers need to concerned with when hiring. So, when does the latest minimum wage increases take effect?
ML: So, as of July 1st 2023, employers are required to pay employees at least the updated minimum wage. However, there are exceptions for tipped employees.
AB: Ok, so we’re looking at July 1st. Now, many of our clients employ professionals, admin staff, skilled tradespeople, and unskilled labor. Many of those employees would not be affected by a minimum wage increase. So, why should all employers be aware of the increase of the minimum wage in their area?
ML: Yeah, that’s a good question. Some employers may think that they don’t have anyone working for them that’s at or near the current minimum wage, but it’s always a good idea to check. Maybe you’ve hired an intern to help out in the office over summer break, or you’ve hired a recent high school graduate that has no work experience, is learning on the job, or is on a probation period. These types of workers may be affected by the increase. So, it’s important to know the minimum wage in your jurisdiction, so you can adjust the employee wages accordingly.
AB: Oh, absolutely. And, this is important especially if wages within your organization haven’t kept up with inflation over the last two years or so. An employee who was making a little above minimum wage last year, could now be at or below the new minimum wage and will need an increase in pay in order for the employer to stay compliant. Now, our listeners are probably wondering, what is the new minimum wage going to be on July 1st. Can you break that down for us?
ML: Well, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, but there are caveats like for tipped employees. What most employers need to pay attention to is their state and local minimum wages. For us in San Diego County, different cities within the same geographical region have different minimum wages. The City of San Diego’s minimum wage is $16.30, while surrounding cities’ minimum wages are the same as the State of California’s, at $15.50.
AB: Megan, how can employers be sure that they’re using the correct minimum wage for their employees?
ML: So, clients can access the benefit notice toolkit, minimum wage chart, and pay equity and transparency law pages from the RM365 HRAdvantage™ portal. Right now, all of those resources can be found in the featured article on the dashboard. So, I highly recommend employers read through those resources. Also, if clients have questions about the minimum wages, please contact the HR experts through our HR portal.
AB: Yeah Meghan, that is really good information and I do encourage all of our listeners that our clients visit the HR portal to get some more information about minimum wages. Megan, thanks for joining me in StudioOne™.
[Outro Music]
ML: Of course, thanks for having me!
AB: This is Alyssa Burley with Rancho Mesa. Thanks for tuning in to our latest episode produced by StudioOne™. For more information, visit us at ranchomesa.com and subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
