June 28, 2016
Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Monica join the chorus of other states and municipalities around the country in recently enacting paid sick leave and minimum wage laws. San Francisco's paid sick leave law was also amended. In addition, the City of Pasadena recently enacted a minimum wage law that goes into effect on July 1, 2016, that will raise its minimum wage to $10.50 per hour. (However, employers with 25 or fewer employees have an extra year to comply.)
These developments follow on the heels of California's statewide paid sick leave law, the "Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014", that went into effect last year, and increases to the state's minimum wage rate that became effective January 1, 2016. Employers must comply with both laws and will now be required to accrue and provide paid sick time for most of their employees who work in these cities that may be in excess of State law requirements, which are intended to provide only minimum standards for paid sick leave.
California is not alone- several other states and the District of Columbia have paid sick leave laws in place, including Connecticut (2012), Massachusetts (2015), Oregon (2016), and Vermont (eff. January 1, 2017). In addition, over 20 municipalities throughout the country have their own paid sick leave and/or minimum wage ordinances in effect, the first being San Francisco (2007). Others include the California cities of Emeryville (2015), Oakland (2015) and Long Beach (2012) (applies to hotel workers only); Seattle (2012); New York (2014); Philadelphia (2015); Portland, OR (2016); and most recently Minneapolis and Chicago (both eff. July 1, 2017).
A summary of the key provisions in the Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Monica ordinances, as well as the amended San Francisco ordinance follows.
On June 1, 2016, the Los Angeles City Council passed Ordinance 184320, amending the City's minimum wage ordinance that was passed in 2015 to include the requirement for most employers to provide paid sick leave for employees who work within the Los Angeles city limits.
Los Angeles: Amended Paid Sick Leave Policy | |
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Minimum Wage (7/1/16) |
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The complete ordinance is available at http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2014/14-1371_ORD_184320_6-2-16.pdf.
On June 7, 2016, San Diego voters approved a local minimum wage and paid sick leave ordinance (Ordinance O-20390). Initially passed by the San Diego City Council in 2015, the effective date of the Ordinance had been stayed pending voter approval.
San Diego: Amended Paid Sick Leave Policy | |
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Minimum Wage (7/1/16) |
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The San Diego ordinance is available at http://docs.sandiego.gov/council_reso_ordinance/rao2014/O-20390.pdf.
Also on June 7, 2016, San Francisco voters approved Proposition E, amending the city's Paid Sick Leave Ordinance (PSLO) to be more compatible with California's paid state leave law. Proposition E amends the PSLO to parallel certain provisions in the state law providing broader protections for employees, including:
San Francisco: Amended Paid Sick Leave Policy | |
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Minimum Wage (7/1/16) |
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San Francisco's Proposition E and amended sick leave law is available at http://voterguide.sfelections.org/en/paid-sick-leave.
On May 10, 2016, the Santa Monica City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2515, amending the city's municipal code to require paid sick leave for most employers with employees working in the city. This followed the adoption of Ordinance No. 2509 earlier this year requiring a minimum wage for employees and a living wage for hotel workers.
Santa Monica: Amended Paid Sick Leave Policy | |
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Effective Date |
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Eligible Employees |
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Accrual Rate |
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Carryover |
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Minimum Wage (7/1/16) |
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Santa Monica's Ordinance No. 2515 is available at http://qcode.us/codes/santamonica/ (see "CodeAlert - Recently Passed Ordinances").
For additional information, please contact your Burnham Benefits Consultant or Burnham Benefits at 949-833-2983 or inquiries@burnhambenefits.com.
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