California Labor Code § 1197 LC – Minimum Wage Requirements

Labor Code § 1197 LC makes it unlawful for California employers to pay their workers less than minimum wage. In 2023, the minimum wage is $15.50 an hour. If the city or county requires a higher minimum wage, employers must comply with the higher local minimum.

The full text of the statute reads as follows:

1197. The minimum wage for employees fixed by the commission or by any applicable state or local law, is the minimum wage to be paid to employees, and the payment of a lower wage than the minimum so fixed is unlawful. This section does not change the applicability of local minimum wage laws to any entity.

Legal Analysis

California Labor Code 1197 LC requires California businesses to pay their employees no less than the local minimum wage.¹ As of 2023, the California state minimum wage is $15.50 an hour.²

But various localities such as San Francisco and Berkeley have even higher minimum wages that employers are required to abide by under LC 1197.³ (California’s minimum wage is about twice the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.)⁴

Note that workers may not agree to get paid less than minimum wage (even if they earn tips). But there are exceptions:

1. Outside salespeople, who are employees who spend more than 50% of their work time away from the employer’s place of business, selling items or obtaining orders;⁵
2. Student employees, camp counselors and program counselors of organized camps;⁶
3. National service program participants;⁷
4. Mentally or physically handicapped people working for authorized nonprofits or rehabilitation facilities;⁸
5. Independent contractors.⁹

Employees who go unpaid or underpaid may bring a labor board complaint or wage and hour lawsuit against the employer. If successful, employees may be able to recover their unpaid wages, interest, and possibly attorneys’ fees and liquidated damages.

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Legal References