California city plans $16 minimum wage by 2019, highest in U.S

Reuters reports:

Emeryville, a small city in the San Francisco Bay Area, has given initial approval to the nation's highest minimum wage by setting baseline pay at $16 an hour in 2019, with gradual increases leading up to that level.

The 5-0 vote on Tuesday by the city council in Emeryville, a community of about 10,000 residents, follows moves by several major U.S. cities to sharply raise their minimum wages.

The federal minimum wage has remained at $7.25 since 2009. Labor and religious groups have despaired of wringing an increase from the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress and have instead pressed local governments in liberal-leaning areas to enact their own increases.

Making it illegal to work for less than $33,280 a year!