Minimum Wage

* Increases by annual Consumer Price Index each year. Figures are updated annually with new rates.
** Hotel Wage rate is announced in May to align with City of LA's hotel wage rates.

Notes: Employees accrue one hour for every 30 hours worked. Employers can provide leave up front, and employer plans can be more generous.

The State of California, the City and County of Los Angeles, and other jurisdictions also have minimum wage laws. Santa Monica employers must comply with all relevant laws.  Where requirements conflict, the employer must follow the law that is most generous to employees.

General Minimum Wage

Businesses must comply with the local minimum wage starting July 1, 2016.   The minimum wage rate is aligned with unincorporated Los Angeles County.

• Each year, effective on July 1st, the annual minimum wage rate is adjusted by Consumer Price Index and aligned with LA County (unincorporated) rates.  
  
• Limited exemption for transitional employers
• Limited exemption for first-time workers (85% of local minimum wage for the first 160 hours)
• Limited exemption for employees subject to a collective bargaining agreement.

Hotel Worker Living Wage Hotel Worker Protection

The hotel worker wage is based on Santa Monica’s commitment to supporting a vibrant and equitable tourism industry in parity with the region/Los Angeles hotel wages.

• Applies to all hotels, apart from Santa Monica’s youth hostels
• Includes a one-year hardship waiver provision for hotels that would need to reduce employment by more than 20% or reduce hours by more than 30% to avoid bankruptcy
• Applies to businesses that contract, lease, or sublet on hotel property or provide services on hotel property
• Limited exemption for employees subject to a collective bargaining agreement.
• Please note that the City of Santa Monica also adopted the Hotel Worker Protection Ordinance to protect hotel workers from violent or threatening conduct, provide fair compensation for workload, support hotel worker retention, and requires public housekeeping safety training.  

Paid Sick Leave

The Santa Monica ordinance requires paid sick leave for full-time, part-time, and temporary employees. Note that paid sick leave benefits are greater than the State Requirements.

• Employers must comply starting January 1, 2017.
• The law requires 40 hours for small businesses (businesses with 25 or fewer employees in Santa Monica), and 72 hours for larger businesses (businesses with 26 or more employees in Santa Monica).
• Employers may provide paid sick leave using the accrual method or frontloading (all required leave provided at the start of the year).  
• The accrual rate is one hour for every 30 hours worked.
• Employees must carry over accrued, unused paid sick leave annually (calendar year, fiscal year, or hiring date) up to the accrual cap.
• Employers may provide sick leave at the start of the year as a whole rather than by accrual, as long as this provides leave consistent with the required accrual amounts.  In this case, no carryover is required.  
• Other paid sick leave plans will comply if equal to or more generous than the ordinance.
• Sick leave use and all other detail follow the California State AB 1522 guidelines.

First-Time Workers

Employees working for the first time in an activity in which they have no previous similar or related experience can earn 85% of the minimum wage for the first 160 hours of employment.

• This is the same language as the State “learner” provision.
• City staff can provide further guidance regarding what constitutes similar or related experience, if needed.

Enforcement

The ordinance prohibits retaliation against employees for rights protected under the minimum wage law.  Employees have the right to file civil claims, and employers violating the law can be subject to administrative or criminal penalties.  Employers must cooperate with investigations.  The City enforces its minimum wage law through Los Angeles County's Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA).