If you are a San Diego small business owner, you will want to keep track of San Diego’s new minimum wage and paid time off laws.

MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE:  San Diego is the first city to pass a minimum wage increase since California’s statewide increase to $9 per hour in July 2014.   The increase would gradually raise the minimum wage to meet inflation, starting at $9.75 as of Jan. 1, 2015, to $10.50 by Jan. 2016, and then further to $11.50 by Jan. 2017. By 2019 the minimum wage will be indexed to match inflation.

PAID SICK DAY ADDITION:  This law will also require employers to allow five paid sick-days each year for each employee.

Should this become law, Pink Payroll can assist small business owners to stay compliant with the increases.  We have an Human Resource group that will help you add the sick day rules into your HR Employment Manual.  The Pink Payroll Software will track the days accrued (earned) and used by each employee.  We can also help you with calculations to see how much this will cost you on an annual and per hour basis.  Contact us for to get information on how to manage this change with your business.

Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s veto of the increase was overridden by the San Diego city council on Monday, August 18th by a six-to-two vote.  Those who voted to override the veto argue that the increase will help low-income families that struggle to make ends meet, and could even pull some out of poverty. They state an estimated 172,000 San Diego residents will benefit from the increase.

Those against the increase, such as Faulconer, argue that it will actually hurt small businesses and put the city at an economic disadvantage with neighboring areas. He argues that small businesses will have to lay off employees to accommodate the increase.

Though the veto was overridden successfully, the wage increase faces one more obstacle before it can become official. The San Diego Small Business Coalition has introduced a petition to put the wage increase on a voter’s ballot before it can take effect. The petition has 30 days (as of Wed. Aug. 20) to get 33,866 signatures for the referendum to be on the ballot. If it succeeds, San Diego voters will have to approve the wage hike. We will continue to provide info on this event as it unfolds.

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