The city of San Mateo is poised to boost its hourly minimum wage to $15 by 2018, joining a growing list of Bay Area communities that are moving aggressively to help low-income workers who struggle to afford the region's high cost of living.
The ordinance would give small businesses an additional two years to phase in the increase but still beat the timeline established by new state legislation, signed in April by Gov. Jerry Brown, that requires a $15 an hour minimum wage by 2022.
The cities of El Cerrito, Emeryville, Mountain View, San Francisco and Sunnyvale have adopted similar wage hikes, and other municipalities are studying them, as the soaring cost of renting or buying a home in the Bay Area continues to squeeze low-wage earners.
"This is a big step to raise the wage for people who need it the most," said Mayor Joe Goethals, who voted in favor of the ordinance Monday night at the conclusion of a lengthy public hearing.
The council voted 3-2 to introduce the measure, with a formal vote looming June 20. Businesses with 55 or fewer employees would have until 2020 to fully phase in the 50-percent increase.
A coalition of restaurant owners lobbied for the small-business deferral, arguing that increasing the minimum wage from $10 to $15 in just two years would be calamitous.
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