Napolitano announces $15 minimum wage for direct, contract employees
University of California President Janet Napolitano announced in the UC Board of Regents meeting Wednesday morning that minimum wage for UC employees will increase to $15 over the next three years. (Daily Bruin file photo)
By Jillian Frankel
July 22, 2015 11:05 a.m.
SAN FRANCISCO — University of California President Janet Napolitano announced a $15 minimum wage for all UC workers by October 2017 at the UC Board of Regents meeting Wednesday morning.
The policy is part of the UC Fair Wage/Fair Work Plan, which will establish a minimum wage for employees and contract workers as well as provide enhanced monitoring and compliance of contractors, Napolitano said.
All UC employees who work at least 20 hours a week will be paid a minimum hourly wage of $13 by October, $14 by October 2016 and $15 by October 2017. California state minimum wage is $9 an hour and will increase by $1 beginning January.
Napolitano said the UC, which is the third largest employer in California, will be the first public university in the U.S. to voluntarily establish a minimum wage of $15 for its 195,000 workers.
Beginning October, all service contractors and subcontractors who are hired by the UC will also be required to pay their workers the UC’s minimum wage.
Napolitano said the UC will attempt to increase its monitoring of UC contractors’ treatment of wages and working conditions.
The Board of Regents created a hotline for contracted employees to report problems with wages and working conditions to the Office of the President. In addition, they can now also report complaints online.
All UC contractors are now required to pay for an annual compensation audit to measure their adherence to workplace laws and minimum wage.
Compiled by Jillian Frankel, Bruin senior staff.
