Minimum wage is set to increase in California from $12 to $13 an hour starting Jan. 1, 2020.

This increase only applies to employers with 26 or more employees. Employers with 25 employees or less will pay $12 an hour starting Jan. 1.

Chico State’s student employee rate is already set to increase with the rising minimum wage.

Sophia Graves, a senior who works in the testing center on campus, is excited to see this increase.

“I work very hard at my job and I think a pay increase will match my efforts and be really helpful as I’m graduating in the Spring,” Graves said.

This increase will also help students who are currently working to pay their tuition as well as rent.

“My parents don’t help out with tuition and I work hard to get scholarships,” Graves said. “I pay for all my bills and tuition. Working part time at a max of 20 hours barely covers the bills I have so a pay increase will be very helpful because I can earn about $1000 a month work 20 hours a week.”

Students currently being paid minimum wage will see an increase in 2020. Students being paid more than the new minimum wage (either $13 an hour or more) will not see a pay increase.

The minimum wage increase next year is a step toward California’s goal of a $15 minimum wage.

At the current rate that minimum wage has been raised yearly, $15 an hour will be reached by 2022 for large employers and 2023 for all employers in the state.

Jessie Imhoff can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JessieReports