Laws and Updates
Minimum Wage
California Minimum Wage- On January 1, 2020, California's minimum wage for employers with 26 or more employees increased to $13.00 per hour. The minimum wage for employers with 25 or fewer employees will increase to $12.00 per hour.
Check the local city website for mid-year updates. Click on the city to be directed to their website.
Municipal minimum wage:
- Belmont: $15.00
- Berkeley: $15.35
- Cupertino: $15.00
- Daly City: $13.75
- El Cerrito: $15.37
- Emeryville:$15.69, 55 or less employees $15.00
- Los Altos: $15.40
- Los Angeles City: 26 or more employees: $14.25
7/1/20 $15.00
- Los Angeles City: 25 or less employees: $13.25
7/1/20 $14.25
- Los Angeles County (unincorporated areas) 26 or more employees: $14.25
7/1/20 $15.00
- Los Angeles County (unincorporated areas) 25 or less employees $13.25
7/1/19 $14.25
- Malibu: $13.25, 25 or less employees $12.00
- Menlo Park $15.00
- Milpitas: $15.00
- Mountain View: $16.05
- Oakland: $14.14
- Palo Alto: $15.40
- Pasadena: $14.25, 25 or less employees $13.25
- Redwood City: $15.38
- Richmond: $15.00
- San Diego: $13.00
- San Francisco: $15.59
- San Jose: $15.25
- San Leandro: $14.00
- San Mateo: $15.38
- Santa Clara: $15.40
- Santa Monica: $13.25, 25 or less employees $12.00
- Sonoma: $13.50 (26 or more employees) $12.50 (25 or fewer)
- South San Francisco: $15.00
- Sunnyvale: $16.05
Exempt Employee Minimum Salary:
Beginning January 1, 2020, the minimum salary for exempt employees of employers with 26 or more employees is $54,080 per year.
For employers with 25 or fewer employees, the minimum salary is $49,920 per year.
AB 5 - ABC Test
For a worker to be properly classified as an independent contractor (sometimes called a “1099 contractor” or “1099 employee”), they must pass certain tests under federal and state law.
California employers have been subject to the “ABC test” since April of 2018 because of a California Supreme Court ruling.
Effective January 1, 2020, the ABC test will become part of California’s statutes as well.
The primary difference between the law made by the Supreme Court ruling and the law as of January 1 is that the new statute includes certain types of workers that will not be subject to the ABC test, but instead the less strict Borello test.
Click Here for all the information.
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Sexual Harassment & More
- By January 1, 2020, employers with five or more employees must provide one hour of sexual harassment prevention training to non-supervisory employees and two hours of such training to supervisors, and additional training is required every two years after that.
- Existing law was expanded to include elected officials, lobbyists, directors, producers and others in the codified list of those who can be held liable for professional relationship sexual harassment.
- Two new California laws were enacted to protect legislative staffers and lobbyists from retaliation when they speak out about sexual harassment and other misconduct.
- Employers can now be liable for harassment by non-employees on any basis protected under FEHA, not just sexual harassment.
- A new California law makes numerous changes to California's Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) relating to workplace harassment claims. .
- Under a new California law, any provision in a contract or settlement agreement will be unenforceable if it prohibits a party to the contract from testifying about criminal conduct or sexual harassment in an administrative, legislative or judicial proceeding.
- Another new California law prohibits confidentiality provisions in settlement agreements where sexual harassment, assault or discrimination has been alleged. See
- Talent agencies are now required to provide sexual harassment prevention training and reporting resources to artists they sign for representation.
- Under a new amendment to California's Civil Code, California employers and victims of sexual harassment are now better protected from liability for defamation by an alleged harasser after a complaint of sexual harassment has been made.