Under a local ordinance enacted in January 2016, employers with employees in Santa Monica, California will be required to provide paid sick leave to their employees and will be subject to the City's new minimum wage provisions (Santa Monica City Ordinance, January 26, 2016).

Employees are covered under the Ordinance if they work at least two hours within the City of Santa Monica during a given week, and if they are entitled to payment of a minimum wage under the California Labor Code.

US government agencies as well as any state, city, county, school district and other public entities are exempt from the requirements.

Also exempted are:

— Workers covered by a bona fide collective bargaining agreement, if the waiver is explicit; and

— For the first 18 months of employment, transitional employers that provide supportive services and transitional jobs to the hardest to employ may be paid an hourly wage below the minimum wage.

Paid leave requirements

Under the Ordinance, employers with 26 or more employees will be required to provide at least 72 hours of accrued paid sick leave. Employers with 25 or fewer employees will be required to provide at least 40 hours of accrued paid sick leave, unless the employer's policy is more generous. Employees accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked.

Employees working for an employer on or before the operative date of the Ordinance begin accruing sick leave as of the operative date. Employees hired after the operative date begin accruing sick leave 90 days after commencement of employment. An employer may not require, as a condition of taking paid sick leave, that the employee search for or find a replacement worker to cover the hours during which the employee is off.

Minimum wage requirements

Beginning on July 1, 2016, employers with 26 or more employees must pay a minimum wage of $10.50, which will increase annually until reaching $15 per hour on July 1, 2020. Beginning on July 1, 2017, employers with 25 or fewer employees must pay a minimum wage of $10.50, which will increase annually until reaching $15 per hour on July 1, 2021. On July 1, 2022, and annually, the minimum wage will increase with inflation.

Beginning on July 1, 2016, hotel employers must pay hotel workers a minimum wage of $13.25, which will increase to $15.37 on July 1, 2017. On July 1, 2018, and annually, the minimum wage will increase with inflation.

Employees who are learners (as defined under state law) must be paid at least 85% of the minimum wage rounded to the nearest nickel during their first 480 hours or six months of employment, whichever is sooner.

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