$15 minimum wage qualifies for California's November ballot

SACRAMENTO, Calif. >> A proposal to raise Califoia’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2021 has qualified for the November ballot.

Califoia’s current minimum wage is among the highest in the nation at $10 an hour. The measure certified by the secretary of state Tuesday would raise it by $1 each of the next five years.

Backers of a competing minimum wage proposal are still collecting signatures. That plan would raise wages to $15 by 2020, a year earlier, and provide six paid sick days aually.

Businesses and Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown have said such a steep wage increase would be incredibly costly.

Oregon officials approved a law earlier this month that will increase that state’s minimum wage to nearly $15 in urban areas over the next six years.

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This story has been corrected to show that Califoia’s minimum wage is among the highest in the nation.

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