Notice to All New York and California Employers: Minimum Wage and Minimum Salary Threshold Increases for 2025

Those who employ workforce members in New York and California should be mindful of important increases in minimum wage rates and in minimum salary thresholds for classification of employees as overtime exempt. The following changes for New York and California employers are effective as of January 1, 2025.

In New York, minimum wage for employees who are nonexempt from overtime pay requirements will increase from $16.00 to $16.50 per hour in New York City and the counties of Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester. Minimum wage for employees working elsewhere in the state will increase from $15.00 to $15.50 per hour.

Minimum salary thresholds for New York’s executive and administrative overtime exemptions will increase from $1,200 per week (or $62,400 annualized) to $1,237.50 per week (or $64,350 annualized) in New York City and the counties of Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester. Elsewhere in the state, minimum salary thresholds will increase from $1,124.20 per week (or $58,458.40 annualized) to $1,161.65 per week (or $60,405.80 annualized). 

In California, minimum wage rates will also increase for most nonexempt employees from $16.00 to $16.50 per hour. Minimum salary thresholds for California’s executive, administrative and professional exemptions from overtime liability will increase from $1,280 per week (or $66,560 annualized) to $1,320 per week (or $68,640 annualized).

Minimum salary thresholds for overtime pay exemptions will also increase for computer software employees in California, rising from $55.58 to $56.97 per hour, $9,646.96 to $9,888.13 per month, or $115,763.35 to $118,657.43 annualized. 

Both New York and California employers should ensure that they display the appropriate state minimum wage posters in their workplace to reflect the new wage rates before the effective date and provide copies of those posters to any employees working remotely.

Our Labor & Employment Law team is available to help employers navigate wage and hour compliance issues under both New York and California’s wage and hour laws and related federal, state and local regulations and guidance, as well as under other jurisdictions in the U.S., and to provide counseling and assistance in addressing potential classification or reclassification issues as may be necessary or appropriate.

For more details about minimum wage and minimum salary threshold increases for 2025 and what to expect in 2026, see our Client Alert below.