Downloads
Laws and Updates
Minimum Wages and Salaries
Statewide Minimum Wage
On January 1, 2022 California’s minimum wage will increase to $15 per hour for employers with 26 or more employees and $14 per hour for employers with 25 or fewer employees.
Exempt Employee Minimum Salaries and Wages
The minimum salary threshold for exempt employees will increase to $1,200 per week ($62,400 per year) for employers with 26 or more employees, and $1,120 per week ($58,240 per year) for employees with 25 or fewer employees.
The minimum rate for exempt computer software employees will increase to $47.48 per hour.
The minimum rate for exempt licensed physicians and surgeons paid on an hourly basis will increase to $86.49 per hour.
Check the local city website for mid-year updates. Click on the city to be directed to their website.
Municipal minimum wage:
- Alameda: $15.75
- Belmont: $15.90
- Berkeley: $16.99
- Burlingame: $15.00
- Cupertino: $15.65
- Daly City: $15.00
- El Cerrito: $15.61
- Emeryville:$17.68
- Foster City: $15.75 (New this year)
- Fremont: $16.00
- Half Moon Bay: $15.00 (26 or more employees)
- Half Moon Bay: $14 (25 or fewer employees)
- Long Beach: (Hotels with 100 or more guest rooms) $16.73
- Los Altos: $15.65
- Los Angeles City: $16.04
- Los Angeles City (Hotels with 150 or more guest rooms) $18.17
- Los Angeles County $15.96
- Malibu: $15.96
- Menlo Park $15.25
- Milpitas: $16.40
- Mountain View: $16.30
- Novato: $14.00 (1-25 employees) $15.00 (26-99 employees) $15.24 (100 or more employees)
- Oakland: $14.36
- Palo Alto: $15.65
- Pasadena: $16.11
- Petaluma: $15.20
- Redwood City: $15.62
- Richmond: $15.21
- San Carlos: $15.24
- San Diego: $14.00
- San Francisco: $16.99
- San Jose: $15.45
- San Leandro: $15.00
- San Mateo: $15.62
- Santa Clara: $15.65
- Santa Monica: $15.96
- Santa Monica (hotels) $18.17
- Santa Rosa: $15.20
- Sonoma: $15.00 (26 or more employees) $14.00 (25 or fewer)
- South San Francisco: $15.24
- Sunnyvale: $16.30
- West Hollywood (1-49 employees) $16.00
- West Hollywood (50 or more employees) $16.50
- West Hollywood (Hotel workers) $18.35
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.
AB 2257 was signed on September 4, 2020 to address items with AB 5. AB 5 restores some of the freedom to freelancers. There are now more than 75 exceptions to California's independent contracting ban.
Click Here for all the information.
Visit our COVID-19 page for links and downloads.
Sexual Harassment & More
For Free Training CLICK HERE
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.
