San Diego Minimum Wage to Increase to $11.50 on New Year’s Day

SAN DIEGO, CA – The minimum wage in San Diego is scheduled to increase by $1 an hour on Sunday, the first day of 2017.

The pay hike is the result of the City Council's passage of an ordinance that scheduled a series of increases and mandated up to five days of sick leave each year. The law was ratified by voters in June.

The ordinance applies to all industries and businesses, so there are no exceptions, according to the city. Tips and gratuities do not count toward payment of minimum wage.

Future increases will be tied to the Consumer Price Index beginning Jan. 1, 2019. In the future, if the state's minimum wage goes above the city's, the higher pay rate will prevail.

California's minimum wage is currently $10 an hour, so it currently doesn't apply in San Diego. It will rise 50 cents on Sunday for businesses outside San Diego – and other localities with higher minimum wages – with 26 or more employees. Establishments with 25 or less workers have until 2018 to comply.

Employers are also required to download and post updated notices about the minimum wage law at all workplaces and job sites.

“Implementation of the wage increase is a huge victory for San Diego's working families and will provide much-needed relief for San Diegans who work full-time but still find trouble making ends meet amid rising costs for housing, utilities and groceries,” former Councilman Todd Gloria said in July, when the wage law took effect.

Gloria, who spearheaded the effort to pass the ordinance, now serves in the Assembly.

By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock