California City Minimum Wages: Berkley and Sunnyvale
Berkley and Sunnyvale are among the Cities in the U.S. who recently enacted new minimum wage ordinances.
Berkeley Minimum Wage
Berkeley, California increased its minimum wage rate to $10.00 per hour effective October 1, 2014. The Berkeley Minimum Wage Ordinance (MWO) includes planned increases to the minimum wage rate in 2015 and 2016.
| Effective Date | Minimum Wage Rate |
| October 1, 2014 | $10.00 |
| October 1, 2015 | $11.00 |
| October 1, 2016 | $12.00 |
Employers regardless of where they are located, must pay the Berkeley minimum wage to their employees who perform at least two hours of work within the geographic boundaries of Berkeley.
There is no allowable tip credit for the Berkeley minimum wage. An employer must not use an employee’s tips as a credit towards its obligation to pay the Berkeley minimum wage.
Order the GovDocs Berkeley City Poster Compliance Package and save 20% with coupon code 2015MIN. The package includes both versions of the required Berkeley minimum wage posting: English and Spanish.
Sunnyvale Minimum Wage
The City of Sunnyvale enacted a new Minimum Wage Ordinance (MWO) that took effect January 1, 2015. Employers who are subject to the Sunnyvale Business License Tax or who maintain a facility in Sunnyvale must pay to each employee who performs at least two hours of work per week in Sunnyvale wages of not less than $10.30 per hour.
The Sunnyvale minimum wage rate is adjusted for inflation each January 1. Order the GovDocs Sunnyvale City Poster Compliance Package and save 20% with coupon code 2015MIN. The package includes all three versions of the required Sunnyvale minimum wage posting: English, Spanish, and Chinese.
A total of seven California Cities have enacted minimum wage ordinances. Learn more about California Cities with 2015 Minimum Wages in our GovDocs U.S. Minimum Wage Report.
GovDocs provides posting compliance coverage of more than 50 cities in the U.S. for large employers. If your business operates across multiple states, contact us for a price quote for total posting compliance coverage at the State, Federal, and City level.
Did we mention that GovDocs also provides ongoing compliance coverage for all 10 Canadian Provinces, too? Those are just some of the reasons why North America’s largest employers trust GovDocs for ongoing labor law posting compliance.
Albuquerque 2015 Minimum Wage Increase
Albuquerque increased its 2015 minimum wage rate to $8.75 effective January 1, 2015.
[wc_divider style=”dotted” line=”single” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=””]The City launched its Albuquerque Minimum Wage Ordinance in 2007 and indexes the minimum wage rate to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) each year to compensate for the cost of living. The 2014 CPI report identified a 1.6 percent increase in the cost of living for Albuquerque resulting in a 15-cent increase from $8.60 to $8.75 for the Albuquerque regular minimum wage.
The regular minimum wage rate covers employees who do not receive at least $2,500 in healthcare or childcare benefits. For workers who receive more than $2,500 in benefits, the 2015 minimum wage rate increased only to $7.75.
Albuquerque Tipped Minimum Wage
Employers must pay Albuquerque minimum wage workers who earn tips as part of their regular duties at least $5.25 per hour.
Albuquerque Minimum Wage Poster
Every employer must display both English and Spanish versions of the Albuquerque Minimum Wage Poster in a conspicuous location.
Albuquerque is one of more than 50 cities in the U.S. that GovDocs monitors for mandatory workplace posting updates. The 2015 Albuquerque minimum wage posting is included as part of the GovDocs Albuquerque City Posting Compliance Package in English and Spanish versions. Order now and save 20% on all 2015 labor law poster purchases with GovDocs coupon code 2015MIN.
[wc_divider style=”dotted” line=”single” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=””] [wc_divider style=”solid” line=”single” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=””]Passed: $13 Minimum Wage for Chicago by 2019
The City of Chicago approved a new minimum wage ordinance that establishes a minimum wage that increases in stages to $13 per hour in five years.
[wc_divider style=”dotted” line=”single” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=””]According to the Mayor’s Office, more than 400,000 workers in Chicago will receive automatic pay increases as a result of the new Chicago minimum wage ordinance passed by the Chicago City Council.
Chicago Minimum Wage Schedule
Chicago Regular Minimum Wage
- July 1, 2015 $10 per hour
- July 1, 2017 $11 per hour
- July 1, 2019 $13 per hour
- July 1, 2020+ Chicago’s minimum wage rate would be adjusted based on inflation.
Chicago Tipped Minimum Wage
- July 1, 2015 $5.45
- July 1, 2016 $5.95
- July 1, 2017+ Chicago’s tipped minimum wage rate would be adjusted based on inflation.
Chicago Minimum Wage Poster
The GovDocs Research Department will monitor the City for release of a poster associated with the new minimum wage. When released, the new poster will be included as part of the GovDocs City of Chicago Poster Compliance Package if it is required for display by the City.
[wc_divider style=”dashed” line=”single” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=””]Chicago Minimum Wage Power Play
Mayor Rahm Emanuel has advocated for an increase and was a key player in getting the ordinance passed at lightning speed ahead of the February 2015 mayoral election.
Chicago politics make for great drama in real life and on the small screen. Check out Kelsey Grammer playing a powerful Chicago mayor who runs the City with an iron fist even while he is losing his grip on his own mind.
Move Over San Francisco – Richmond, Calif. to Take Top U.S. Minimum Wage
Above and beyond, that’s what the City of Richmond, California was striving for as they passed a minimum wage ordinance that would create a citywide minimum wage reaching $12.30 per hour by 2017, if the ordinance achieves final approval in May.
Beginning in 2018, the rate would be tied to Consumer Price Index to allow for cost-of-living increases.
Businesses with 10 or fewer employees would be exempt but would be subject to the California state minimum wage or Federal rate.
If approved, Richmond’s minimum wage rate would lead the six U.S. cities that have established their own rates. The other five include:
- San Francisco, California – $10.74
- San Jose, California – $10.15
- Baltimore, Maryland – $7.25
- Albuquerque, New Mexico – $8.60
- Santa Fe, New Mexico – $10.51
JUNE 3, 2014 UPDATE – SEATTLE RAISES MINIMUM WAGE TO $15 PER HOUR
Seatac, Washington established a $15.00 per hour minimum wage for only hospitality and transportation workers, but the rate does not apply to employees across all industries in the city.
Oklahoma recently passed emergency legislation prohibiting its municipalities from establishing independent minimum wage rates.