Chapter 3.300
MINIMUM WAGE
Sections:
3.300.040 Exempt organizations.
3.300.050 Notice, posting and payroll records.
3.300.060 Retaliation prohibited.
3.300.090 Waiver through collective bargaining.
3.300.100 Federal or state funding.
3.300.110 No preemption of higher standards.
3.300.010 Title.
This chapter shall be known as the “Minimum Wage Ordinance.” (Ord. 2020-01 §2(Att. A)(part), 2020).
3.300.020 Definitions.
The following words and phrases shall have the meanings set forth below when used in this chapter. The singular shall include the plural, and the plural shall include the singular.
A. “Calendar week” shall mean a period of seven consecutive days starting on Sunday.
B. “City” shall mean the city of Half Moon Bay.
C. “Employee” shall mean any person who:
1. In a calendar week performs at least two hours of work for any employer (as defined below); and
2. Qualifies as an employee entitled to payment of a minimum wage from any employer under the California minimum wage law, as provided under Section 1197 of the California Labor Code and wage orders published by the California Industrial Welfare Commission. Employees shall include learners, as defined by the California Industrial Welfare Commission.
D. “Employer” shall mean any person, including corporate officers or executives, as defined in Section 18 of the California Labor Code, who directly or indirectly through any other person, including through the services of a temporary employment agency, staffing agency, or similar entity, employs or exercises control over the wages, hours, or working conditions of any employee and who is either subject to the city’s business license requirements, or maintains a business facility in the city.
E. “Learner” shall mean an employee who is a learner as defined by California Welfare Commission Order No. 4-2001.
F. “Minimum wage” shall mean the minimum wage set forth in Section 3.300.030. (Ord. 2020-01 §2(Att. A)(part), 2020).
3.300.030 Minimum wage.
A. Employers shall pay employees no less than the minimum wage set forth in this chapter for each hour worked within the geographic boundaries of the city.
B. On January 1, 2021, the minimum wage shall be an hourly rate of fifteen dollars. To prevent inflation from eroding its value, beginning on January 1, 2022, and each year thereafter, the minimum wage shall increase by an amount corresponding to the prior year’s increase, if any, in the cost of living. The increase in the cost of living for any year shall be measured by the percentage increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index for San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose (or its successor index) as published by the U.S. Department of Labor or its successor agency (CPI). The increase shall be calculated by using the August-to-August change in the CPI. A decrease in the CPI shall not result in a decrease in the minimum wage.
C. An employee who is a learner shall be paid no less than eighty-five percent of the applicable minimum wage for the first one hundred sixty hours of employment. Thereafter, the employee shall be paid the applicable minimum wage.
D. An employer may not deduct an amount from wages due an employee on account of any tip or gratuity, or credit the amount or any part thereof, of a tip or gratuity, against, or as part of, the wages due the employee from the employer.
E. No employer may fund increases in compensation required by this chapter, nor otherwise respond to the requirements of this chapter, by reducing the wage rate paid to an employee, nor by increasing charges to them for parking, meals, uniforms, or other items, nor by reducing the citation or other nonwage benefits of any such employee, nor by increasing the share any employee pays towards their benefits, except to the extent such prohibition would be preempted by the Federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
F. A violation for unlawfully failing to pay the minimum wage shall be deemed to continue from the date immediately following the date that the wages were due and payable as Part 1 (commencing Section 200) of Division 2 of the California Labor Code, to the date immediately preceding the date the wages are paid in full. (Ord. 2020-01 §2(Att. A)(part), 2020).
3.300.040 Exempt organizations.
State, federal, and county agencies, including school districts, shall not be required to pay minimum wage when the work performed is related to their governmental function. However, for work that is not related to their governmental function, including but not limited to: booster or gift shops, non-K-12 cafeterias, on-site concessions, and similar operations, minimum wage shall be required to be paid. Minimum wage shall also be required to be paid by lessees or renters of facilities or space from an exempt organization. (Ord. 2020-01 §2(Att. A)(part), 2020).
3.300.050 Notice, posting and payroll records.
A. By November 1, 2020, the city shall publish and make available to employers a bulletin announcing the minimum wage rate, to take effect on January 1, 2021. By November 1, 2020, the city shall publish and make available to employers a notice suitable for posting in the workplace informing employees of the minimum wage rate and of their rights under this chapter.
B. By November 1, 2021, the city shall publish and make available to employers a bulletin announcing the adjusted minimum wage rate, to take effect January 1st of the following year. In conjunction with this bulletin, the city shall, by November 1st of each year, publish and make available to employers a notice suitable for posting by employers in the workplace informing employees of the current minimum wage rate and of their rights under this chapter.
C. Every employer shall post in a conspicuous place at any workplace or job site where any employee works the notice published each year by the city informing employees of the current minimum wage rate and of their rights under this chapter. Failure to post such notice shall constitute a violation of this chapter.
D. Employers shall retain payroll records pertaining to employees for a period of three years, and shall allow the city access to such records, with appropriate notice and at a mutually agreeable time, to monitor compliance with the requirements of this chapter. Where an employer does not maintain or retain adequate records documenting wages paid or does not allow the city reasonable access to such records, the employee’s account of how much he or she was paid shall be presumed to be accurate, absent clear and convincing evidence otherwise. (Ord. 2020-01 §2(Att. A)(part), 2020).
3.300.060 Retaliation prohibited.
A. An employer shall not discharge, reduce compensation or otherwise retaliate against any employee for making a complaint to the city, participating in any of the city’s proceedings, using any civil remedies to enforce his or her rights, or otherwise asserting his or her rights under this chapter.
B. Taking adverse action against a person within ninety days of the person’s exercise of rights protected under this chapter shall raise a rebuttable presumption of having done so in retaliation of such rights. (Ord. 2020-01 §2(Att. A)(part), 2020).
3.300.070 Implementation.
The city may promulgate regulations for the implementation and enforcement of this chapter, including procedures for the fair, efficient, and cost-effective implementation of this chapter, for informing employees of their rights under this chapter, for monitoring employer compliance with this chapter, and for providing administrative hearings or determining whether an employer has violated the requirements of this chapter. (Ord. 2020-01 §2(Att. A)(part), 2020).
3.300.080 Enforcement.
A. Where prompt compliance is not forthcoming, the city shall take any appropriate enforcement action to secure compliance. In addition to all other civil remedies, the city may enforce this chapter pursuant to the Half Moon Bay Municipal Code. To secure compliance, the city may use the following enforcement measures:
1. The city may issue an administrative citation with a fine of not more than fifty dollars for each day or portion thereof and for each employee or person as to whom the violation occurred or continued.
2. The city may issue an administrative compliance order.
3. The city may initiate a civil action for injunctive relief and damages and civil penalties in a court of competent jurisdiction.
B. Any person aggrieved by a violation of this chapter, any entity a member of which is aggrieved by a violation of this chapter, or any other person or entity acting on behalf of the public as provided for under applicable state law may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs and shall be entitled to such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any back wages unlawfully withheld, the payment of an additional sum as a civil penalty in the amount of fifty dollars to each employee or person whose rights under this chapter were violated for each day that the violation occurred or continued, reinstatement in employment, and/or injunctive relief; provided, however, that any person or entity enforcing this chapter on behalf of the public as provided for under applicable state law shall, upon prevailing, be entitled only to equitable, injunctive or restitutionary relief to employees and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.
C. This section shall not be construed to limit an employee’s right to bring legal action for a violation of any other laws concerning wages, hours, or other standards or rights, nor shall exhaustion of remedies under this chapter be a prerequisite to the assertion of any right.
D. Except where prohibited by state or federal law, city agencies or departments may revoke or suspend any registration certificates, permits, or licenses held or requested by the employer until such time as the violation is remedied.
E. Relief. The remedies for violation of this chapter include, but are not limited to:
1. Reinstatement, and the payment of back wages unlawfully withheld, and the payment of an additional sum as a civil penalty in the amount of fifty dollars to each employee or person whose rights under this chapter were violated for each day or portion thereof that the violation occurred or continued, and fines imposed pursuant to other provisions of this code or state law.
2. Interest on all due and unpaid wages at the rate of interest specified in subdivision (b) of Section 3289 of the California Civil Code, which shall accrue from the date that the wages were due and payable as provided in Part 1 (commencing with Section 200) of Division 2 of the California Labor Code, to the date the wages are paid in full.
3. Reimbursement of the city’s administrative costs of enforcement and reasonable attorney’s fees.
F. Posted Notice. If a repeated violation of this chapter has been finally determined, the city may require the employer to post public notice of the employer’s failure to comply in a form determined by the city. (Ord. 2020-01 §2(Att. A)(part), 2020).
3.300.090 Waiver through collective bargaining.
All or any portion of the applicable requirements of this chapter may be waived in a bona fide collective bargaining agreement, provided such waiver is explicitly set forth in such agreement in clear and unambiguous terms; and provided, that the waiver may not be applied retroactively. The waiver allowed by this provision does not apply to employees in the property services industry (e.g., janitors, landscapers, groundskeepers, and security guards). (Ord. 2020-01 §2(Att. A)(part), 2020).
3.300.100 Federal or state funding.
This chapter will not be applied to the extent it will cause the loss of any federal or state funding of city activities. (Ord. 2020-01 §2(Att. A)(part), 2020).
3.300.110 No preemption of higher standards.
This chapter provides for payment of local minimum wage and shall not be construed to preempt or otherwise limit or affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for payment of higher or supplemental wages or benefits, or that extends other protections. This chapter shall not be construed to limit a discharged employee’s right to bring a common law cause of action for wrongful termination. (Ord. 2020-01 §2(Att. A)(part), 2020).