Tag: minimum wage

SANTA MONICA—The minimum wage in the city of Santa Monica which currently sits at $16.90 per hour, will be rising to $17.27 per hour starting July 1, 2024. Santa Monica’s minimum wage law sets general and hotel worker wages and mandates paid sick leave.

The amount increases annually by the published Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Works (CPI-W) for the Los Angeles metropolitan area (LA-Riverside-Orange County, CA) published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Santa Monica posts the new rates annually on or near January 1.

The wage for hotels and businesses operating on hotel property is $19.73 per hour and will increase to $20.32 per hour effective on July 1, 2024. This rate aligns with the city of Los Angeles’ Hotel Worker Minimum Wage Rate. Santa Monica will post the new rates annually on or near May 15.

The paid sick leave provision requires Santa Monica employers to provide 40 hours (small businesses) or 72 hours (larger businesses) of paid sick leave.

The ordinance includes service charges, first-time workers, enforcement provisions, and a limited exemption for employers providing transitional jobs. To apply for the Transitional Jobs exemption email wagehelp@dcba.lacounty.gov.

Employers must post Santa Monica notices. At a minimum, employers must post Santa Monica’s legal notices in English and Spanish.

Businesses must also post notices in any other language spoken by five percent or more of the employer’s workforce.

Legal notices are available for download below. Contact wagehelp@dcba.lacounty.gov to request the legal notices in an additional language.

See below for legal notices valid from July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024, and the legal notices valid from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025. These contain updated minimum wage and hotel worker living wage rates.

For additional details visit https://www.santamonica.gov/minimum-wage.

By Trevor

MALIBU—The city of Malibu announced on its website that beginning July 1, 2024 the minimum wage will rise to $17.27 per hour. This is in accordance with the City’s Minimum Wage Ordinance. The increase includes a 2.2 percent cost-of-living increase based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers in the Los Angeles – Long Beach – Anaheim statistical region (not seasonally adjusted).

“This wage reflects our dedication to creating a more equitable community in Malibu,” said Mayor Steve Uhring. “By aligning our minimum wage increases with L.A. County and some neighboring cities, we hope to help our local businesses stay competitive and be able to attract excellent staff at a time when companies across the nation face serious staffing challenges.”

The City’s Minimum Wage Ordinance requires that the minimum wage in Malibu increase every year on July 1, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase. The CPI increase is set every year in December by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Malibu City Council voted on March 28, 2016, to incrementally raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2020, mirroring the minimum wage increases implemented by Los Angeles County and other neighboring jurisdictions. Companies with more than 25 employees were required to pay employees no less than $10.50 after July 1, 2016, until reaching $15 per hour in 2020.

Initially, to give smaller local businesses with fewer than 25 employees adequate time to adjust to the changes, the city’s ordinance provided a one-year delay. Their minimum wage increases started July 1, 2017, and were set to rise annually on the same schedule until reaching $15.00 per hour in 2021. As of July 1, 2022, small businesses with fewer than 25 employees must also adhere to the same minimum wage established by the Ordinance (see Malibu Municipal Code Section 5.36).

All employers in the Malibu city limits are required to print out and display a poster explaining the ordinance, worker rights and protections, how to file a complaint for non-compliance, and other information. The poster is available to download, print out or share at: https://www.malibucity.org/MinimumWagePoster.

The poster must be placed in the same conspicuous and accessible location at all job sites where mandated federal and state labor postings are required to be displayed. The city of Malibu is conducting direct outreach to businesses in city limits to ensure that that all businesses are aware of and are adhering to the minimum wage requirements. Those wanting more information about the ordinance can view a video about the city of Malibu’s Minimum Wage via the city’s website.

By Trevor

MALIBU—On Monday, February 5, the city of Malibu reported on its website that the minimum wage in the city will increase to $17.27 per hour starting July 1, 2024. The increase is in accordance with the City’s Minimum Wage Ordinance which includes a 2.2 percent cost-of-living increase based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers in the Los Angeles – Long Beach – Anaheim statistical region (not seasonally adjusted).

“This wage reflects our dedication to creating a more equitable community in Malibu,” said Mayor Steve Uhring. “By aligning our minimum wage increases with L.A. County and some neighboring cities, we hope to help our local businesses stay competitive and be able to attract excellent staff at a time when companies across the nation face serious staffing challenges.”

The city reports on its website that Malibu’s Minimum Wage Ordinance requires that the minimum wage in the region increase every year on July 1, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase. The CPI increase is set every year in December by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Malibu City Council voted on March 28, 2016, to incrementally raise the minimum wage to $15.00 per hour by 2020. Companies with more than 25 employees were required to pay employees no less than $10.50 per hour after July 1, 2016, until reaching $15 per hour in 2020.

To provide smaller local businesses with fewer than 25 employees enough time to adjust to the changes, Malibu’s ordinance provided a one-year delay. Their minimum wage increases started July 1, 2017, and were set to rise annually on the same schedule until reaching $15.00 per hour in 2021. As of July 1, 2022, small businesses with fewer than 25 employees must also adhere to the same minimum wage established by the Ordinance (see Malibu Municipal Code Section 5.36).

All employers in the Malibu city limits are required to print out and display a poster explaining the ordinance, worker rights and protections, how to file a complaint for non-compliance, and other information. The poster is available to download, print out or share at: https://www.malibucity.org/MinimumWagePoster.

It must be placed in the same conspicuous and accessible location at all job sites where mandated federal and state labor postings are required to be displayed. Malibu is conducting direct outreach to businesses in city limits to ensure that that all businesses are aware of and are adhering to minimum wage requirements.

To view a video explaining the ordinance, visit the City’s Minimum Wage webpage.

By Trevor

WEST HOLLYWOOD—The City of West Hollywood now has the highest minimum wage in the country after wages increased to $19.08 hourly on Saturday, July 1, beating Seattle which had the highest wage at $18.69.

According to reports many small business owners are unhappy about the increase stating that it could drive them out of business.

Lucian Tudor, chief executive of upscale restaurant La Boheme, told the Los Angeles Times he has cut staff from 120 to 80 to trim costs. The city’s minimum wage climbed $1 in January to $17.50 an hour for businesses with at least 50 employees.

“These pay increases are about superficiality and about opportunistic politicians who are just trying to make a name for themselves,” Tudor, who would prefer a minimum wage that accounts for tips like what New York City has, told the news source.

Employers facing financial hardships can apply for a one-year delay via a waiver with the city.

This increase in pay is reported to go up again on July 1, 2024. The updated hourly total will be posted on the city’s website.

Jorge Zeparak, 52, who is an immigrant from Peru who works at the Beverly Hills Hotel spoke with the Los Angeles Times in an interview stating that he has seen an improvement in his co-workers lives due to the city’s pay increases implemented in the past few years.

“The reality is that hotel companies are making record profits while workers are barely getting by,” said Zeparak.

Other major cities thorough out the country saw minimum wage increases recently with Los Angeles now at $16.68 and San Francisco at $18.07. Hotel workers in the City of Los Angeles who work at hotels with 60 rooms or more saw an increase to $19.73 from $18.86. Hotel workers in the City of Santa Monica are also seeing the same increase.

According to reports, one must make $40 hourly to live comfortably in the State of California. Smart Asset states that the U.S. city that provides people with the most comfort financially is St. Louis, Missouri.

By Christianne