The University of California will raise its minimum wage to at least $15 an hour over the next three years for employees working at least 20 hours a week, University of California President Janet Napolitano announced Wednesday.

The Fair Wage/Fair Work Plan increases the mandated minimum wage to $13 an hour on Oct. 1, 2015; to $14 an hour on Oct. 1, 2016; and to $15 an hour on Oct. 1, 2017. The California state minimum wage currently stands at $9 an hour; it is set to increase to $10 an hour on Jan. 1, 2016.

The University of California is the state’s third-largest employer — behind the federal and state governments — with 195,000 employees at its 10 campuses, five medical centers, three national labs, the Office of the President, the Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and other locations.

The university also will require companies that provide services for UC to pay their employees a wage that meets or exceeds UC’s new minimum wage and expand its monitoring and compliance efforts related to service contractors’ wages and working conditions, including a new phone hotline and central online system for contract workers to report complaints and issues directly to the Office of the President.

The university will require that all UC contractors undergo an annual compensation audit to ensure they are paying their employees at a level at or above UC’s minimum wage and complying with all local, state, federal and UC workplace laws and policies. These audits would be funded by the contractors and implemented as new contracts are established and existing contracts come up for renewal. The university also plans to institute spot audits of its contractors to ensure their compliance.

“Through its education, research and public service missions, the University of California’s students, faculty and staff have made us into a world-renowned institution,” Napolitano said. “And our community does not exist in a vacuum. How we support our workers and their families impacts Californians who might never set foot on one of our campuses.”

She continued: “This is the right thing to do — for our workers and their families, for our mission and values, and to enhance UC’s leadership role by becoming the first public university in the United States to voluntarily establish a minimum wage of $15.”