As used in this Chapter:
means the City of Santa Monica.
means in larger type than the surrounding text, or in contrasting
type, font, or color to the surrounding text of the same size, or
set off from the surrounding text of the same size by symbols or other
marks, in a manner that is clearly visible in context and clearly
calls attention to the language.
means any person who in a particular week performs at least
two hours of work within the geographic boundaries of the City for
an Employer; and qualifies as an employee entitled to payment of a
minimum wage from any Employer under the California Labor Code and
wage orders published by the California Industrial Welfare Commission.
means any person, including a corporate officer or executive,
association, organization, partnership, business trust, and limited
liability company or corporation, who directly or indirectly, or through
an agent or any other person, including through the services of a
temporary service or staffing agency or similar entity, employs or
exercises control over the wages, hours or working conditions of any
Employee.
means persons who have been out of the workforce for an extended
period of time and who face considerable barriers when trying to re-enter
the mainstream workforce.
means any organization that is duly organized, validly existing
and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation
and, if a foreign corporation, in good standing under the laws of
the State of California, which has established and maintains valid
nonprofit status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code,
as amended, and all rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
means any separately-designated amount charged and collected
by an Employer from customers, that is for service by Employees, or
is described in such a way that customers might reasonably believe
that the amount is for those services or is otherwise to be paid or
payable directly to Employees, including those charges designated
on receipts, invoices, or billing statements under the term "service
charge," "table charge," "porterage charge," "automatic gratuity charge,"
"healthcare surcharge," "benefits surcharge," or similar language.
Service Charge does not include a tip or gratuity as defined under
State or federal law.
includes, but is not limited to, counseling services, individual
case management, pre-employment job readiness training, daily monitoring
of participants while on the job, provision of unsubsidized competitive
employment opportunities, and assistance in applying for, obtaining,
and maintaining unsubsidized competitive employment.
means a Nonprofit Corporation that provides Transitional
Jobs for the long-term unemployed, and that has been certified by
the City as a Transitional Employer.
means short-term, wage-paying, subsidized employment in a
Nonprofit Corporation that combines actual work, skill development,
and Supportive Services to help participants overcome barriers to
employment and transition to unsubsidized competitive employment.
(Added by Ord. No. 2509CCS § 1, adopted 1/26/16; amended
by Ord. No. 2515CCS § 1, adopted 5/10/16)
(a)
An Employer shall pay an Employee
a wage of no less than the hourly rates set under this section.
(b)
Employers with 26 or more Employees
shall pay no less than the following hourly wages:
(c)
Employers with 25 or fewer Employees
shall pay no less than the following hourly wages:
(d)
On July 1, 2022, and annually thereafter,
the minimum wage will increase based on the Consumer Price Index for
Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the Los Angeles
metropolitan area (Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, California),
which is published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The City shall
announce the adjusted rates annually each January 1st and publish
a bulletin announcing the adjusted rates, which shall take effect
on July 1st of each year.
(e)
Employees who are learners, as defined
in Labor Code Section 1192 and consistent with wage orders published
by the California Industrial Welfare Commission, shall be paid not
less than 85% of the minimum wage rounded to the nearest nickel during
their first 160 hours of employment, after which learners shall be
paid the applicable minimum wage pursuant to this section.
(f)
Every Employer shall post in a conspicuous
place at any workplace or job site where any Employee works, the bulletin
published each year by the City informing Employees of the current
minimum wage rate and of their rights under this Chapter. Every Employer
shall post notices in English, Spanish, and any other language spoken
by at least five percent of the Employees. Every Employer shall also
provide to each Employee at the time of hire, the Employer's name,
address, and telephone number in writing.
(g)
Every Employer shall retain payroll
records pertaining to Employees for no less than three years.
(h)
For purposes of this section:
(1)
Multiple Employers that form a single
integrated enterprise shall be considered a single Employer under
this section if so deemed under the Fair Labor Standards Act; and
(2)
The number of Employees shall be
determined by the average number of Employees employed per quarter
during the previous calendar year.
(Added by Ord. No. 2509CCS § 1, adopted 1/26/16; amended
by Ord. No. 2515CCS § 1, adopted 5/10/16)
The City shall establish a procedure to allow a Nonprofit Corporation Employer with 26 or more Employees to qualify for the deferral rate schedule set forth in Section 4.62.015, subdivision (c). A Nonprofit Corporation Employer seeking the deferral must establish evidence that:
(a)
The chief executive officer earns
a salary that, when calculated on an hourly basis, is less than five
times the lowest wage paid by the Nonprofit Corporation; or
(b)
The Nonprofit Corporation is a Transitional
Employer; or
(c)
The Nonprofit Corporation serves
as a child care provider; or
(d)
The Nonprofit Corporation is funded
primarily by City, County, State or Federal grants or reimbursements.
(Added by Ord. No. 2509CCS § 1, adopted 1/26/16; amended
by Ord. No. 2515CCS § 1, adopted 5/10/16)
(a)
Paid sick leave shall begin to accrue
at the commencement of an Employee's employment with the Employer.
(b)
An Employee shall accrue one hour
of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Such paid sick leave
shall accrue only in hour-unit increments; there shall be no accrual
of a fraction of an hour of such time off.
(1)
For Employers with 26 or more Employees,
the Employer shall provide at least 40 hours of accrued paid sick
leave as of January 1, 2017, and at least 72 hours of accrued paid
sick leave as of January 1, 2018. Unused accrued paid sick leave will
carry over from year to year (whether calendar year, fiscal year,
or year of employment) until the paid sick leave reaches a maximum
of 40 or 72 hours, unless the Employer's established policy is more
generous.
(2)
For Employers with 25 or fewer Employees,
the Employer shall provide at least 32 hours of accrued paid sick
leave as of January 1, 2017, and at least 40 hours of accrued paid
sick leave as of January 1, 2018. Unused accrued paid sick leave will
carry over from year to year (whether calendar year, fiscal year,
or year of employment) until the paid sick leave reaches a maximum
of 32 or 40 hours, unless the Employer's established policy is more
generous.
(3)
No accrual or carry over is required
if the full amount of leave required by this section is received at
the beginning of each calendar year, fiscal year or year of employment.
(c)
An Employee may use paid sick leave
consistent with State sick leave laws.
(d)
An Employee is eligible to use accrued
paid sick leave after the first 90 days of employment or consistent
with the Employer's policies, whichever is sooner.
(e)
An Employer is not required to provide
financial or other reimbursement to an Employee upon the Employee's
termination, resignation, retirement, or other separation from employment,
for unused accrued paid sick leave.
(f)
An Employer may not require, as a
condition of an Employee's taking paid sick leave, that the Employee
search for or find a replacement worker to cover the hours during
which the Employee is off.
(g)
The provisions of this section provide
minimum requirements pertaining to paid sick leave and shall not be
construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability
of any other law, regulation, policy, or standard that provides for
separate or greater accrual or use by Employees of sick leave, whether
compensated or uncompensated, or that extends other protections to
Employees. This section shall not be construed to prevent an Employer
from adopting or retaining leave policies that are more generous than
policies that comply with this section.
(Added by Ord. No. 2509CCS § 1, adopted 1/26/16; amended
by Ord. No. 2515CCS § 1, adopted 5/10/16)
(a)
The requirements of this Chapter
shall not apply to Employers that are government agencies, including
federal agencies, state agencies, cities, counties, school districts,
and all other public entities.
(Added by Ord. No. 2509CCS § 1, adopted 1/26/16; amended
by Ord. No. 2515CCS § 1, adopted 5/10/16)
(a)
Transitional Employers that provide
Supportive Services and Transitional Jobs for the Hardest to Employ
may pay each Employee in a Transitional Job an hourly wage that is
below the minimum wage set forth under this Chapter during the first
18 months of the Employee's work in the Transitional Job.
(b)
The City shall establish a procedure
to determine whether an Employer may be certified as a Transitional
Employer, including but not limited to consideration of the following
criteria:
(1)
The Employer's nonprofit corporate
status;
(2)
The profile of program participants
(e.g., homeless individuals, individuals with addictions, at-risk
youth);
(3)
The components of the Employer's
Transitional Job program, including Supportive Services, designed
to help program participants transition towards unsubsidized competitive
employment; and
(4)
Any other criteria as may be developed
in the administrative regulations adopted consistent with this Chapter.
(Added by Ord. No. 2509CCS § 1, adopted 1/26/16; amended
by Ord. No. 2515CCS § 1, adopted 5/10/16)
(a)
Service Charges. An
Employer shall distribute all Service Charges in their entirety to
the Employee(s) who performed services for the customers from whom
the Service Charges are collected. No part of these amounts may be
paid to Employees whose primary role is supervisory or managerial.
No Employer or agent thereof shall deduct any amount from wages or
other compensation required by this Chapter due an Employee on account
of a Service Charge, or require an Employee to credit the amount of
a Service Charge, in whole or in part, against and as a part of the
wages or other compensation required by this Chapter due the Employee.
(1)
Amounts collected as Service Charges
shall be paid to Employee(s) equitably and according to the services
that are or appear to be related to the description of the amounts
given by the Employer to the customers. Employees whose roles are
primarily non-managerial or non-supervisory, and who directly or indirectly
contributed to the chain of services performed for the customers from
whom the Service Charge is collected, may share in the distribution
of the Service Charge amounts. Except as otherwise required by law,
amounts collected as healthcare-related surcharges shall be: (i) deposited
within seven days of their collection into segregated accounts controlled
exclusively by Employees, including but not limited to Flexible Spending
Accounts, Health Savings Accounts, or Premium-Only Cafeteria Plans;
or (ii) paid to Employees in wages. No part of any amount collected
as a surcharge for healthcare or any other Employee benefit shall
revert to the Employer.
(2)
Notwithstanding the foregoing:
(A)
Amounts collected for hotel banquets
or hotel-catered meetings shall be paid to the Employees who actually
work at the banquet or catered meeting;
(B)
Amounts collected for hotel room
service shall be paid to the Employees who actually deliver food and
beverage associated with the charge; and
(C)
Amounts collected for hotel porterage
service shall be paid to the Employees who actually carry the baggage
associated with the charge; provided, however, that Employers that
had, prior to the effective date of this Chapter, an existing practice
of pooling and distributing the amounts specified in this subdivision
to non-management/non-supervisory Employees other than the above-listed
Employees in subdivisions (A) through (C) may continue such practice
to the same extent.
(b)
All Service Charges must be disclosed
to consumers with Clear and Conspicuous notice prior to the time that
the customer makes a purchase or selection, in such a way that customers
might easily and reasonably deduce what the Service Charge is for.
(c)
If an Employer characterizes and
separately designates a Service Charge as optional, the designation
must be written in a manner that requires the customer to affirmatively
add the optional payments. The Employer shall not automatically add
such optional payment amounts to a customer receipt, invoice, or billing
statement in a manner that requires the customer to affirmatively
opt out of paying such amounts.
(d)
The Employer shall disclose in writing
to each Employee its plan of distribution of Service Charges and shall
report to Employees on each payroll date on the amount of Service
Charges collected and amounts distributed to Employees for the pay
period in question.
(e)
The amounts shall be paid to the
Employees no later than the next payroll following collection of the
amounts from customers, except that any amounts collected in cash
shall be paid to Employees at the close of business on the day the
amounts are collected.
(f)
An Employer that permits customers
to pay Service Charges by credit card shall pay the Employees the
full amount of the Service Charge that the customer indicated on the
credit card slip, without any deductions for any credit card payment
processing fees or costs that may be charged to the Employer by the
credit card company.
(g)
The Employer shall keep records showing
compliance with the provisions of this section for no less than three
years from the date of collection of Service Charge amounts from the
customer.
(h)
This section does not apply to any
tip, gratuity, money, or part of any tip, gratuity, or money that
has been paid or given to or left for an Employee by customers over
and above the actual amount due for services rendered or for goods,
food, drink, or articles sold or served to customers.
(Added by Ord. No. 2509CCS § 1, adopted 1/26/16; amended
by Ord. No. 2515CCS § 1, adopted 5/10/16)
The provisions of this Chapter, or
any part thereof, may be waived in a bona fide collective bargaining
agreement, but only if the waiver is explicitly set forth in such
agreement in clear and unambiguous terms. Unilateral implementation
of terms and conditions of employment by either party to a collective
bargaining relationship shall not constitute or be permitted as a
waiver of all or any part of the provisions of this Chapter.
(Added by Ord. No. 2509CCS § 1, adopted 1/26/16; amended
by Ord. No. 2515CCS § 1, adopted 5/10/16)
Except for bona fide collective bargaining
agreements, any waiver by an Employee of any provisions of this Chapter
shall be deemed contrary to public policy and shall be void and unenforceable.
(Added by Ord. No. 2509CCS § 1, adopted 1/26/16; amended
by Ord. No. 2515CCS § 1, adopted 5/10/16)
(a)
It shall be unlawful for an Employer
to reduce the hours or benefits of, refuse to hire, discharge, displace
or otherwise discriminate or take adverse action against any Employee
or other individual in order to pay wages less than the minimums established
under this Chapter.
(b)
It shall be unlawful for an Employer
to directly fund the wages and benefits required under this Chapter
by reducing the pension, vacation, or other non-wage benefits of any
Employee, or by increasing charges to Employees for parking, uniforms,
meals, or other work-related materials or equipment.
(Added by Ord. No. 2509CCS § 1, adopted 1/26/16; amended
by Ord. No. 2515CCS § 1, adopted 5/10/16)
(a)
It shall be unlawful for an Employer
to reduce the hours, wages or benefits of; demote; suspend; discharge;
or otherwise discriminate or take adverse action against any person
for exercising rights protected under this Chapter. Such rights include
but are not limited to opposing any practice proscribed by this Chapter,
participating in proceedings related to this Chapter, seeking to enforce
the person's rights under this Chapter by any lawful means, or otherwise
asserting rights under this Chapter.
(b)
Taking adverse action against a person
within 90 days of the person's exercising rights protected under this
Chapter shall raise a rebuttable presumption that the adverse action
was taken in retaliation for the exercise of such rights.
(Added by Ord. No. 2509CCS § 1, adopted 1/26/16; amended
by Ord. No. 2515CCS § 1, adopted 5/10/16)
Every year after July 1, 2016, the
City shall collect economic data, including jobs, business license,
and sales tax, and shall make this information available to the City
Council and to the public.
(Added by Ord. No. 2509CCS § 1, adopted 1/26/16; amended
by Ord. No. 2515CCS § 1, adopted 5/10/16)
The Finance Director is authorized
to adopt administrative regulations that are consistent with the provisions
of this Chapter. Violations of the administrative regulations adopted
pursuant to this section shall constitute violations of this Chapter,
and shall subject the violator to the penalties set forth in this
Chapter.
(Added by Ord. No. 2509CCS § 1, adopted 1/26/16; amended
by Ord. No. 2515CCS § 1, adopted 5/10/16)
(a)
Records and Interview Access; Cooperation
with Investigations. To monitor and investigate compliance with the
requirements of this Chapter, every employer shall cooperate with
City-authorized investigators, including, but not limited to: accessing
records, and allowing investigators to interview persons, including
employees, during normal business hours.
(b)
The City may issue and serve administrative
subpoenas as necessary to obtain specific information regarding minimum
wage and benefits provided to employees pursuant to this Chapter,
including, but not limited to, records pertaining to each employee
that document the name, address, occupation, dates of employment,
rate or rates of pay, amount paid each pap period, the hours worked
for each employee, and the formula by which each employee's wages,
sick leave, service charge distribution, and benefits, as applicable,
are calculated, to determine whether the employer is in compliance
with this Chapter. Any subpoena issued pursuant to this Section shall
not require the production of information sooner than thirty days
from the date of service. A person that has been served with an administrative
subpoena may seek judicial review during that thirty-day period.
(c)
Unless otherwise specifically provided,
any person violating any provision of this Chapter shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor, which shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding
five hundred dollars but not less than one hundred fifty dollars per
violation, or imprisonment in the County Jail for a period not exceeding
six months, or by both fine and imprisonment, or shall be guilty of
an infraction, which shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding two
hundred fifty dollars but not less than one hundred dollars per violation.
Each such person shall be guilty of a separate offense for each and
every day during any portion of which any violation of any provision
of this Chapter is committed, continued, or permitted by such person
and shall be punishable accordingly.
(d)
Any person violating any provision of this Chapter or any rule or regulation may be subject to administrative citation pursuant to Chapter 1.09 of this Code.
(e)
Any person convicted of violating
any provision of this Chapter or the terms and conditions of any permit
or approval issued pursuant to this Chapter shall be required to reimburse
the law enforcement agency that investigated the violation its full
investigative costs.
(g)
Prosecution for any violation of
this Chapter, including the issuance of any administrative citation
or order, shall be commenced within three years after discovery of
the commission of the offense by law enforcement authorities or by
the victims of the offense.
(Added by Ord. No. 2509CCS § 1, adopted 1/26/16; amended
by Ord. No. 2515CCS § 1, adopted 5/10/16; Ord. No. 2596CCS § 1, adopted 1/8/19)
(a)
Any applicant or Employee aggrieved
by a violation of this Chapter or any other person or entity acting
on behalf of the public, may file a civil action in a court of competent
jurisdiction against the person violating this Chapter.
(b)
Upon prevailing, any aggrieved applicant
or Employee shall be entitled to legal or equitable relief, including,
without limitation, the payment of any back wages unlawfully withheld,
the payment of any sick leave unlawfully withheld, the payment of
penalties up to the amount of one hundred dollars to each person whose
rights under this Chapter were violated for each day that the violation
occurred or continued, reinstatement in employment, and/or injunctive
relief, and shall be awarded reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.
For willful violations, the amount of monies and penalties to be paid
under this subdivision may be trebled.
(c)
Any person or entity enforcing this
Chapter on behalf of the public, upon prevailing, shall be entitled
only to equitable, injunctive or restitutionary relief, and reasonable
attorneys' fees and costs. The right to recover reasonable attorneys'
fees and costs does not apply to any proceeding initiated by a governmental
entity.
(d)
The remedies set forth in this Chapter
are cumulative. Nothing in this Chapter shall be interpreted as restricting,
precluding, or otherwise limiting a separate or concurrent criminal
prosecution under this Code or State law.
(Added by Ord. No. 2509CCS § 1, adopted 1/26/16; amended
by Ord. No. 2515CCS § 1, adopted 5/10/16)
(a)
If at any time the State or federal
minimum wage is scheduled to exceed the minimum wage required under
this Chapter, employers shall pay the higher minimum wage.
(b)
Nothing in this Chapter shall be
interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict
with any State or federal law.
(c)
Nothing in this Chapter shall be
construed to limit any Employee's right to obtain relief to which
the Employee may be entitled at law or in equity.
(Added by Ord. No. 2509CCS § 1, adopted 1/26/16; amended
by Ord. No. 2515CCS § 1, adopted 5/10/16)
