California’s minimum wage rises to $14 per hour

California on Friday upped its minimum wage to $14 an hour, with a goal of eventually reaching $15 by 2023, according to The Associated Press.

Incremental wage increases have taken effect in the Golden State since 2017. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is authorized to temporarily suspend the increases, but said earlier this year that he would not, citing such a move’s effect on front-line workers in particular.

“As we continue our efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19, we must also ensure that as our economy recovers, all Californians can benefit in its growth,” he said in July. “Not allowing this increase to go forward will only make life harder for those Californians who have already borne a disproportionate share of the economic hardship caused by this pandemic.”

The increase will only be to $13 an hour for businesses with 25 or fewer workers.

Several other new labor and business regulations are also set to take effect with the beginning of 2021 on Friday, including a requirement that all companies based in the state have at least one racial or sexual minority on their board of directors. The minimum will increase to two for boards with fewer than nine people and three for those with nine or more by 2022, according to the AP.

Another regulation will require all companies with at least 100 employees to provide racial, ethnic and gender breakdowns to the state to identify potential wage disparities. The minimum number of employees before a company is required to provide workers leaves of absence will decrease from 50 employees to five, the AP reported.

The state also expanded the window workers have to file discrimination or retaliation complaints against employers from six months to a year.