Alert: San Francisco Minimum Wage Increase to Take Effect February 23, 2004
January 08, 2004
Proposition L, approved by San Francisco voters in November 2003, increases minimum wage for individuals working in the City of San Francisco. Though approved by voters last year, the provisions will not take effect until February 23, 2004. This gives employers a period of time to transition all affected employees to the increased rate of pay.
The new minimum wage for any employee performing at least two hours of work per week in the City of San Francisco will be $8.50, significantly more than the current statewide rate of $6.75. The law will not apply to small businesses with fewer than ten employees or to non-profit organizations until January 1, 2005, when the minimum wage for those organizations will be $7.75.
The ordinance will be enforced by the Living Wage/Living Health Division of the Office of Contract Administration, which will enforce the measure by responding to complaints by employees who believe their employers are violating the ordinance. The Division will conduct investigations and meet with employers who are non-compliant, and inform them of their duty to comply.
The City also has the authority to conduct hearings and to award reinstatement, the payment of back wages, and the payment of $50 to each employee for each day the ordinance is violated. Likewise, if an employer remains non-complaint after investigation and counseling, the City has the power to revoke registration certificates, permits or licenses held or requested by the employer, and to order the violating employer to pay $50 to the City for each day for each employee for whom the violation continued. Finally, the ordinance allows either the City or the employee to bring a civil action for violation of the ordinance.
Though the ordinance may be subject to some legal challenge, the Office of Contract Administration plans to begin enforcement on February 23, 2004.
For more information about this or other employment-related matters, please contact Holly Sutton at (415) 954-4476 or at hsutton@fbm.com or any member of the Farella Braun + Martel Employment Practice Group.