California health care workers won a path to $25 minimum wage. Now they fear a detour

After seven years working as a dialysis technician, Romer Tamayo was still earning less than $25 an hour last October when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a minimum wage law for health care workers. The Brentwood father of two was excited by the wage hikes promised in Senate Bill 525. During his tenure at a Fresenius dialysis center, Tamayo’s pay had never increased by more than a dollar in a single year. He now earns $22.68, up from $18 when he was hired. Under SB 525, Tamayo would receive two annual dollar pay bumps in a row. The measure spells out what dialysis workers should expect — an hourly mi...