Glossary
Escalation floor
The minimum change an index clause allows in a year, even when the index prints lower.
A floor is the other side of a collar. 'Not less than 2%' means that if the named index rises 1.2%, the clause still allows 2%, and if the index falls, the clause may still allow 2% rather than a decrease. Read it. Some floors only apply when the change is positive.
A floor is not optional just because the index is already above it. In that year the floor does nothing. In a low-inflation year it is the whole increase. Skipping the test because 'inflation is fine' is how floors get forgotten.
Apply the floor before you celebrate the cap, and do not let a floor sit above a cap. That drafting error is a conflict, not a math problem. Flag it.
The calculator on this site raises the raw change to the floor and then cuts it to the cap, which is the ordinary reading of 'not less than X nor more than Y.' If your sentence orders the tests differently, follow the sentence and say so.
Related terms
See it used in a worked example · CPI calculator · Request an audit
Sources and limits
Index levels from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, not seasonally adjusted, retrieved through the BLS Public Data API on November 1, 2026. Values are index points, not the headline 12-month percent.
Statewide rates reflect U.S. Department of Labor state minimum-wage postings as updated January 1, 2026, the U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Note on 2026 increases, and, for the prior-year comparison and named local rates, the National Employment Law Project compilation published in November 2025. Confirm the rate that applies to the workplace before using it in a bill.
The contracts in these worksheets are fictional. The prices are chosen so the arithmetic is easy to check. They are not a price survey and they are not client results.
RateClause is not a law firm. Nothing on this page is legal advice. Your clause controls, including whether a past period can be rebilled at all.
Primary postings: BLS Consumer Price Index, U.S. Department of Labor, state minimum wages, U.S. Department of State notice of 2026 minimum-wage increases.