Minimum wage requirements in local cities and counties throughout California recently increased. While employers should have been well prepared to comply, it’s in employees’ best interest to educate themselves on the distinctions of pay rate changes in their jurisdictions to ensure they are fairly compensated.

The pay rate increases vary by city and county – and in many locations also vary by the type of employee and size of business. For example, hotel workers in certain locations are entitled to a higher increase, and several jurisdictions separate rates for employers over and under a specified number of employees.

California employees earning minimum wage should determine if their employer is located within a jurisdiction that was scheduled to be part of the most recent wave of increases, and if so, what wage is applicable to them.

This information should be available in the workplace – employers are required to use updated posters reflecting the wage increase – or employees can proactively access the notices via many city and county websites. Effective July 1, 2019:

• Southern California cities with increases included City of Los Angeles, County of Los Angeles, Long Beach (hotel workers only), Malibu, Pasadena, and Santa Monica; and
• Northern California cities with increases included Alameda, Berkeley, Emeryville, Fremont, Milpitas, Oakland (hotel workers only), San Francisco, and San Leandro.

An important detail for employees to know is they are entitled to the higher pay rate starting on the day the increase takes effect (in this case July 1). If an increase applies, employees should take special care reviewing pay stubs in the following months to ensure the updates are reflected in their earnings for all applicable workdays.

Of equal importance is  that employees who are sent to work in other cities educate themselves on wage laws specific to those locations as they may be applicable.  For example, the minimum wage ordinance in Santa Monica and the City of Los Angeles require employers to pay employees who perform at least two hours of work per week in their jurisdictions their minimum wage.

Employees should be sure to take steps to protect their compensation rights and stay well-informed to developments. If you need help understanding your legal options and protections in this area, contact Keller Grover for a free consultation. In more than 30 years litigating fraud and employment cases, the lawyers at Keller Grover have recovered hundreds of millions for clients and class members.