MINIMUM WAGE RATE INCREASES EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2021
Effective January 1, 2021, the minimum wage in California will increase from $13.00 to $14.00 per hour for employers with (26) or more employees and from $12.00 to $13.00 per hour for employers with (25) or fewer employees. As authorized by the current State budget and Welfare & Institutions (W&I) Code sections 4681.6(b), 4691.6(f) and (g), and 4691.9(b), many vendors will either receive, or be eligible to request, a rate increase to adjust employees’ pay to comply with the new minimum wage.
The following programs must submit rate adjustment requests directly to DDS related to the increase in minimum wage. Vendors must submit actual wage and mandated employer cost information for affected employees only and total program units of service provided for the period of January, February and March 2020. The required workbooks to submit rate adjustments to the Department can be found by clicking on the service code below.
Community-Based Day Programs and Respite Agencies:
- Activity Center, Service Code 505
- Adult Development Center , Service Code 510
- Behavior Management program, Service Code 515
- Independent Living Service, Service Code 520
- Social Recreation program, Service Code 525
- Infant Development program, Service Code 805
- In-Home Respite Agency, Service Code 862
- Work Activity Program, Service Code 954
All other providers must submit rate adjustment requests directly to the Regional Center for negotiated rates in order to pay employees no less than the minimum wage effective January 1, 2021 using this worksheet. The rate adjustment must be specific to the unit of service that is affected by the new minimum wage and shall only include those costs necessary to increase an employee’s actual hourly wage to the new minimum wage rate and associated mandated employer costs (e.g., Social Security, Medicare, and workers’ compensation) for the period of January, February and March 2020.
Employer of Record Respite providers only (Service Code 862) should use this worksheet to submit rate adjustment requests directly to Far Northern Regional Center.
Rate adjustment requests must be submitted no later than March 1, 2021. Any rate adjustments approved will be effective January 1, 2021.
Other rates that are automatically adjusted for minimum wage and/or SB 81 are:
- Alternate Residential Model (ARM) Rates/respite facilities (Service Codes 904, 905, 910, 915 & 869):
Effective January 1, 2021, the rates for community care facilities can be found here. - In-Home Respite Worker (Service Code 864):
Effective January 1, 2021, the rate is $19.18 per consumer hour. - Voucher and Participant-Directed Respite (Service Codes 420 & 465):
Effective January 1, 2021 the rate is $19.18 per consumer hour. - Non-Mobile Supplemental Staffing (Service Codes 505 and 525):
Effective January 1, 2021 the new rate is $1.68 per consumer hour. - Non-Mobile Supplemental Staffing (Service Codes 510 and 515):
Effective January 1, 2021 the new rate is $1.80 per consumer hour
Providers with Alternative Nonresidential Services Monthly Rates
Vendors utilizing the Alternative Nonresidential Services Model during the COVID-19 State of Emergency and therefore have an associated monthly rate may also be eligible for the minimum wage increase. The minimum wage worksheet includes a section for calculating a rate adjustment for monthly rates.
Providers with rates set by the department will need to submit their rate adjustment request to the Department (See service codes above). To request a rate adjustment, providers of these services must submit to the Department information on only those costs necessary to increase an employee’s actual hourly wage to the new minimum wage rate and associated mandated employers costs. The Department will, upon review and approval of submitted rate adjustment requests, provide the regional center a copy of the rate adjustment approval letter and to the provider notifying them of the rate increase amount. The regional center will be responsible for applying the rate increase amount to the monthly rate.
Providers with rates set through negotiation with the regional center shall fill out the appropriate section on the minimum wage worksheet. Regional centers will process the rate adjustment request and notify providers of their new rate.
Additional information about the increase in minimum wage as well as detailed instructions for submitting rate adjustment requests to DDS can be found at the following website: https://www.dds.ca.gov/rc/vendor-provider/minimum-wage.
If you have any questions regarding the minimum wage rate adjustments or the worksheet used to calculate adjustments, please contact Tristan Cauntay, Rate and Fiscal Analyst at Far Northern Regional Center at tcauntay@farnorthernrc.org or at (530) 222-4791 Ext 1684.