1/1/2017 City of San Diego Minimum Wage and Sick Time Changes
On April 4, 2016, Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 3, which will increase California’s minimum wage annually, reaching $15 per hour for employers with at least 26 employees by January 1, 2022. This bill enacts the highest statewide minimum wage in the nation, on par with New York, which enacted a bill mandating a $15 […] The post 1/1/2017 City of San Diego Minimum Wage and Sick Time Changes appeared first on California HR Services.
On April 4, 2016, Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 3, which will increase California’s minimum wage annually, reaching $15 per hour for employers with at least 26 employees by January 1, 2022. This bill enacts the highest statewide minimum wage in the nation, on par with New York, which enacted a bill mandating a $15 minimum wage last week.
Governor Brown opposed the bill just a few months ago, stating that it “would put a lot of poor people out of work.” However, during a press conference touting the signing of the bill on April 4, Governor Brown stated that, while the minimum wage “may not make sense” economically, it makes sense “morally and socially and politically.”
For employers with at least 26 employees, California’s minimum wage will increase on the following schedule:
- January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017: $10.50 per hour.
- January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018: $11 per hour.
- January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019: $12 per hour.
- January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020: $13 per hour.
- January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021: $14 per hour.
- Beginning January 1, 2022: $15 per hour.
Employers with 25 or fewer employees will follow a minimum wage schedule that lags behind the above schedule by one year. Accordingly, for these employers, the minimum wage will be $10.50 per hour starting on January 1, 2018, $11 per hour on January 1, 2019, and continuing on this schedule until reaching $15 per hour on January 1, 2023.
Beginning on August 1, 2022, and recurring on August 1 of each year thereafter, California’s Director of Finance will increase the minimum wage for the following year based on statistics from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Governor has the ability to suspend the above minimum wage increases if certain economic factors indicate that the state is in recession.
Notably, California’s salary basis test for exempt employees is directly tied to the state’s minimum wage. Exempt employees must earn at least twice the state’s minimum wage for full-time employment, meaning that under the current $10 per hour minimum wage, exempt employees must earn an annual salary of $41,600 ($10 per hour x 2 x 40 hours per week x 52 weeks per year). Under a $15 per hour minimum wage, the minimum annual salary jumps to $62,400 ($15 per hour x 2 x 40 hours per week x 52 weeks per year).
Employers are encouraged to start assessing their workforce and compensation policies to prepare to adjust compensation for, at a minimum, nonexempt employees who earn less than $15 per hour and exempt employees who earn less than $62,400 per year.
The following includes additional information for those who might be located in the city of San Diego and will therefore be affected by the Min Wage and new Sick Time regulations effective Jan 1, 2017. You can use the map below to determine if you fall in the City of San Diego zone and the notices you should be placing in your place of business:
Information:
https://www.sandiego.gov/treasurer/minimum-wage-program
Min wage notice:
https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/tr_mwo_notice_english_dec_2016.pdf
Sick time notice:
https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/tr_esl_notice_english_dec_2016.pdf
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Please note, cities throughout CA have different minim wages so it is critical to determine whether or not your particular city has a different minimum wage.
In addition, employees who regularly go to/drive into cities with different minimum wages must be audited. If they travel into those zones on a regular basis for at least 2 hours per week, you may be required to pay them the higher minimum wage.
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