California Gov. Jerry Brown is expected to sign legislation that would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022, increasing pay for more than 440,000 healthcare workers in the state.
The proposed hike, which passed the General Assembly late last week, would affect 5.6 million California workers, 8% of whom are part of the healthcare industry, according to a UC Berkeley Labor Center report.
Public support for the bill quickly swept California after the SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West union filed a $15 minimum wage ballot initiative in April 2015, and generated more than 600,000 signatures in support.
Under the legislation, the state's $10 hourly wage will increase to $10.50 on Jan. 1, 2017, and then to $11 an hour in 2018. It will then increase by $1 annually until 2022.
