2019 Minimum Wage Increases Guide

On July 1st 2019, minimum wage increases will go into effect in several jurisdictions across the country. The ever-changing landscape of the hospitality industry can be confusing and overwhelming – that’s why we’ve created a guide to help you navigate your state’s changes.

MINIMUM WAGE CHANGES EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2019

California:

• Alameda: $12.50 per hour
• Berkeley: $15.59 per hour
• Emeryville: $16.30 per hour
• Fremont: $13.50 per hour
• LA, City: $14.25 per hour
• LA, County: $14.25 per hour
• Malibu: $14.25 per hour
• Milpitas: $15.00 per hour
• Pasadena: $13.25 per hour for businesses with 25 or fewer employees; $14.25 per hour for businesses with 26 or more employees
• San Francisco: $15.59 per hour
• San Leandro: $14.00 per hour
• Santa Monica: $14.25 per hour for large businesses; $13.25 per hour for small businesses; $16.63 per hour for hotel workers

DC:

• Washington: $14.00 per hour

Illinois:

• Chicago: $13.00 per hour
• Cook County: $12.00 per hour

Maine:

• Portland: $11.11 per hour

Maryland:

• Montgomery County: $13.00 per hour for large employers; $12.50 per hour for mid-sized and small employers

New Jersey:

• $10.00 per hour

Minnesota:

• Minneapolis: $10.00 per hour

Oregon:

• Portland metro area: $12.50 per hour
• Non-urban counties: $11.00 per hour

What Employers Can Do Now 

Get Your Scheduling Down to a Science: Analyze your most crucial shifts and recognize the strongest members of your staff in order to strategically schedule your team (tools like Harri’s TeamLive can help managers and operators with schedule alignment, labor costs, and budget).

Consider Adjusting Your Hours:  By tracking your stores’ sales patterns, you may gain valuable insights to determine the working hours that are most productive for your business. For example, if you frequently experience a spike in customers/sales around lunch Monday through Friday, but find there’s a slump during evenings on the same days, you may want to consider closing earlier during the week and focusing your marketing efforts towards weekday lunch. (Pro Tip: Your POS weekly and monthly reports should be a great indicator of these trends.)

Take a Close Look at Menu Item Prices: This is a last-ditch but sometimes necessary effort to combat minimum wage increases. Analyze each menu item and break it down by cost (with the help of your culinary team), and consider comparing vendors. Know that you may lose some customers at the expense of your menu changes. If you decide to increase your menu prices, communicate to your guests that your business has done so in order to stay open, pay your employees fair wages, and continue to serve them!