Welcome to this weeks Friday’s Five. In the last two weeks in early June 2016, many local governments in Southern California have passed laws increasing the minimum wage and the amount of paid sick leave benefits to employees. This Friday’s Five is a summary of five minimum wage and paid sick leave requirements that employers in Southern California should understand. Employers are required to comply with the law that provides the most benefits to the employees, therefore it is important for employers to understand which laws apply to their operations and to take steps to comply with the quickly approaching deadlines.
| State/City | Minimum Wage | Paid Sick Leave |
| 1) California | $10/hr January 1, 2016; $10.50 January 1, 2017; $11/hr January 1, 2018; $12/hr January 1, 2019; $13/hr January 1, 2020; $14/hr January 1, 2021; $15/hr January 2022* | Current: 3 days or 24 hours |
| 2) Los Angeles – City (click here for a previous article about Los Angeles City’s minimum wage and paid sick leave laws) | July 1, 2016: $10.50/hr; July 1, 2017 $12; July 1, 2018 $13.25; July 1, 2019 $14.25; July 1, 2020 $15.00 * (click here for more information about Los Angeles’s minimum wage ordinance) | July 1, 2016: 48 hours* |
| 3) Los Angeles – County | Same as LA City | No specific requirement – state law applies |
| 4) San Diego City | July 2016: $10.50 (date not set yet – likely effective in first half of July 2016); January 1, 2017 $11.50; January 1, 2019 $11.82; January 1, 2020 $12.15; January 1, 2021 $12.49; January 1, 2022 $12.84 | 5 paid sick days (date not set yet – likely effective in first half of July 2016) |
| 5) Santa Monica (click here for Santa Monica’s website setting for details of the new law) | $10.50 July 1, 2016; July 1, 2017 $12.00; July 1, 2018 $13.25; July 1, 2019 $14.25; July 1, 2020 $15.00* | January 1, 2017: 32 hours for small businesses, 40 hours for large businesses; January 1, 2018: 40 hours for small business, 72 hours for large businesses* |
| *Employers with 25 or fewer employees the implementation is delayed one year. |
Photo: crab boy