Newsom Wants To Delay New Health Care Worker Pay Bump

California health care workers hoping to see a state-mandated minimum wage increase later this year may have to wait a little longer.

Because of the state's projected $38 billion budget deficit, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday he is calling for the following changes: a law he signed just three months ago This puts the healthcare industry on the path to a $25 minimum wage.

The first pay increases were scheduled to take effect in June. It's unclear how long the proposed changes would push that schedule back. Newsom wants the raises to come at a time when the state's fiscal outlook is healthy.

He said he signed the law, Senate Bill 525That's because “there was a commitment from the bill's supporters about the trigger,” meaning they agreed to tie the wage increase to the state's budget outlook. The administration did not disclose the agreement when he signed it into law.

Erin Mellon, a spokeswoman for the governor's office, said the administration publicly discussed the possibility of a clean bill shortly after Newsom signed the bill.she pointed to something Los Angeles Times article The document was released three weeks after Newsom signed the bill, and another spokesperson said the administration is working on “a companion bill to take into account the state's budget situation and revenues.”

Newsom included a request for a delay. national budget bill He was released on Wednesday. He said he is working with lawmakers and the law's sponsors to develop changes that are expected to be introduced in a new bill later this month. In his budget proposal, he also said he wants Congress to clarify whether state health care workers are exempt from the law.

The law was one of two bills Newsom signed last fall. minimum wage for certain workers in certain industries.Another law that raises minimum wage for fast food workers The wage increase to $20 an hour will move forward starting in April.of california minimum wage For other workers, it's $16 this year.

Nearly 500,000 California health care workers are expected to receive pay increases based on industry minimum wage laws once the minimum wage law goes into effect.

The bill was finalized at the end of the legislative year after the law's sponsor, SEIU, and a group of health care employers, including the California Hospital Association, brokered an agreement in which both sides supported the wage increase. Newsom signed without a clear cost estimate.

Treasury Department Newsom released price estimates in November, predicting the burden would be on the state. Approximately $4 billion in 2024-25$2 billion comes from the state's general fund.

SEIU declined to be interviewed after Newsom's comments about the budget. He issued a statement saying he would continue to work with the government and Congress.

Newsom's signing of the bill surprised some lawmakers. This is because they were expecting a huge budget deficit.

“I didn't know what the deficit was at the time, but at least I expected the news to be bad and I don't understand why we would need to intentionally increase overhead costs. ,” said Sen. Roger Niero, a Fair Oaks Republican who serves as vice chairman of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee.

The Health Care Worker Pay Act is aimed at creating more sustainable income as a way to retain and attract workers in the health care sector, which has suffered from severe labor shortages for years. This law applies to workers in state-owned facilities and will likely require states to increase medical rates paid to health care providers to offset some of the cost increases associated with wage increases, resulting in additional costs to states. It will cost.

Before securing a statewide pay increase, SEIU California and its affiliated chapters Raise wages for health workers at the local level Through city ordinances and ballot measures. In 2022, the union won its first local victory in Inglewood, where health care workers in private health facilities became eligible for a new $25 minimum wage effective January 1, 2023.