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California's Salon Commission Rule (Labor Code §204.11)

Why the federal minimum-wage check isn't the whole story for a licensed salon employee in California — or in any state with its own pay-structure rule.

Updated 24 Sept 2026

California Labor Code §204.11, effective 2018 (SB 490), covers employees licensed under the Barbering and Cosmetology Act. Pay from licensed services counts as "commission" only if the employee also gets a regular base hourly rate of at least twice the state minimum wage for all hours worked, and commission wages must be paid at least twice each calendar month. It shows a state can regulate how commission pay is built, not only how much it comes to.

What does this mean for you? Work out your own number: Commission minimum wage calculator

The federal check in the commission minimum wage calculator asks one question: does the week’s pay reach the minimum wage? Some states ask more. California is the clearest example for salons, in Labor Code §204.11, added by SB 490 and effective January 1, 2018.

What the statute says

It applies to employees licensed under California’s Barbering and Cosmetology Act.

  • What counts as commission. For a licensed employee, pay for services that require the license, paid as a percentage or flat sum of client payments, and pay for selling goods, is commission.
  • A base rate is required. To be paid that way, the employee must receive a regular base hourly rate of at least two times the state minimum wage for all hours worked, in addition to the commissions, every pay period in which hours are worked.
  • Pay frequency. Commission wages must be paid at least twice during each calendar month, on a payday set in advance.
  • Agreements and rest periods. Employers and employees can agree to additional commissions above the base, and rest periods are paid at no less than the regular base rate.
  • Other rights stay. The statute leaves other state and federal wage rights, including overtime, in place.

What it means for a tool like ours

A federal minimum-wage check can say “this week’s pay reaches $7.25 an hour” and still be the wrong question for a California licensed salon employee, where the pay structure itself is regulated and the state minimum wage is higher than the federal one. This is why the calculator asks you to enter the minimum wage that applies to you and says plainly that it isn’t a state-law determination.

The statute doesn’t spell out, in the text above, what happens to pay that isn’t built this way. Law-firm commentary at the time described it as being treated as piece-rate pay, with separate obligations for rest and non-productive time; that reading should be confirmed with California’s Labor Commissioner or an employment lawyer before anyone relies on it.

If you’re not in California

Other states have their own rules on the minimum wage, the tip credit, card-fee deductions and how commission pay is structured, and none of them are built into this site’s tools. The federal rule is a floor: where state law is more protective of the employee, that is what applies.

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