Late November Wage and Hour Developments in California
Topics: New Laws & Legislation, Wage & Hour Issues
In case you were too busy eating Turkey and/or watching football, we wanted to make sure you were aware of two wage and hour developments in California from last week:
Premium Pay for Certain Holidays Being Proposed
First, San Diego Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez announced that she is going to introduce a bill that guarantees that all California workers (part-time and full-time) receive double their regular rate of pay if they are required to work on Thanksgiving or Christmas. (Note: In Ohio, state representative Michael Foley already introduced a bill that would require stores in Ohio to pay triple the regular hourly rate for workers who are required to work Thanksgiving). Assuming Gonzalez’ bill does get introduced, we expect it to have substantial support from her fellow lawmakers. This bill would be introduced in next year’s legislative session (2015) and will not affect Christmas this month. Currently, Gonzalez plans to only include Thanksgiving and Christmas as days requiring premium pay. However, it is certainly possible that amendments to expand the scope of the bill are debated and that additional holidays or other dates (Black Friday, Christmas Eve etc.) are considered.
Sacramento Considering Citywide Minimum Wage Ordinance
Second, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson has announced that he will put together a task force shortly after January 1 to consider the issues surrounding raising Sacramento’s minimum wage above the current state level ($9 currently increasing to $10 in 2016). Mayor Johnson claimed that the task force will include representatives from the business community and from organized labor. He announced that he will ask the group to look into a variety of issues surrounding a potential Sacramento minimum wage including whether to do it, the timing of it, and what if any exemptions should be provided. The Mayor has not identified a particular dollar figure for the new minimum wage and that issue will likely also be considered and proposed by the task force. We expect that any minimum wage increase is likely to be supported by the City Council and the citizens of Sacramento.
We will keep you updated on these issues as they develop.
