Mayor Edwin M. Lee announced today that the City’s minimum wage of $10.74 per hour will be adjusted to $11.05 per hour, effective January 1, 2015.

“San Francisco is leading the nation in addressing income inequality by supporting low wage earners and working families, but we must do more,” said Mayor Lee. “A hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay. That’s why I worked closely with Supervisor Jane Kim and the entire Board of Supervisors and with large and small businesses, nonprofits, labor groups, and those who represent working families to bring a fair and responsible consensus measure to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour. This November, we have the opportunity to raise the minimum wage in a way that supports our businesses, protects our economic recovery, and boosts wages for working people.”

“Given all that San Francisco has already done to support a living wage, it’s no surprise that we’re leading the nation again,” said Supervisor Jane Kim, lead co-sponsor of the Minimum Wage Ordinance on the November ballot. “Voters will get a chance to pass the most robust minimum wage increase in the country on November 4th.  Our residents deserve to be able to live where they work and support their families, period.”

In November 2003, San Francisco voters enacted a local minimum wage rate, and the law provides for annual rate adjustments based on the previous year’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) for urban wage earners in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose metropolitan area. The City uses the CPI adjustment published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in September to set the following year’s rate. Employers must pay San Francisco’s higher minimum wage for all covered work performed within the City.

When the San Francisco minimum wage of $8.50 per hour rolled out in 2004, the City had the highest minimum wage rate in the country. Because the legislation called for increases along with CPI, San Francisco still has the nation’s highest minimum wage at $10.74 per hour. Despite CPI adjustments, the minimum wage has not kept pace with the true cost of living in San Francisco. Earlier this year, Mayor Lee convened a working group led by labor, nonprofit and business experts to consider a significant increase to the local minimum wage.  Their consensus proposal would gradually increase the minimum wage. On November 4, 2014, San Francisco voters will consider whether to increase the local minimum wage to $15.00 by July 1, 2018.

The Federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour. The California minimum wage is $9.00 per hour, and is slated to rise to $10.00 on January 1, 2016. Neither the Federal nor the State minimum wages are adjusted annually for inflation. San Francisco was among the first local jurisdictions to enact a minimum wage higher than Federal or State minimum wages. A growing number of cities and counties have passed or enacted local minimum wage laws in the last two years, including the City of Seattle, the City of San Jose, the City of Richmond, Bernalillo County in New Mexico, and Washington, D.C. Mayor Lee also supports President Obama’s effort to raise the Federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour.

In December, the City will be mailing updated multilingual posters announcing the new rate to registered businesses with employees. Employers are required to post the notice in their workplace. Additional information regarding San Francisco’s Minimum Wage Ordinance can be found at www.sfgov.org/olse/mwo or by calling 415-554-6292.