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Our Upcoming Events
January 1, 2016
Minimum Wage Increase
On January 1, 2016, Oakland’s Minimum Wage goes up to $12.55.
Measure FF, the voter-initiative ballot measure passed in November 2014, provides annual increases to Oakland’s Minimum Wage based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) for urban wage earners and clerical workers for the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The CPI-W from August 2014 to August 2015 increased approximately 2.5%. Thus, Oakland’s Minimum Wage will go up 30¢, from $12.25 to $12.55 on January 1, 2016.
In light of the increase, employers must be aware of the following:
- By December 15, 2015, employers must provide notice to employees and prominently display posters on the new minimum wage increase;
- On January 1, 2016, the rate goes up 30¢ to $12.55; and
- The other benefits mandated by Measure FF — paid sick leave and payment of service charges — remain the same as when the employment law took effect on March 2, 2015.
To assist employers in meeting the notification deadline of December 15, the City of Oakland has provided Official Posters in multiple languages:
- Click here for the Notification Poster in English
- Haga clic aquí para leer el poster de Aviso a Empleados en Español
- 按此處閱讀中文版的僱員通告.
- Bấm vào đây để xem Áp phích Thông báo Tăng Lương Tối thiểu bằng Tiếng Việt
Business Briefings offered by our partners
Thursday, October 29, 1 to 4 pm
Business Workshop in Spanish for Spanish speaking employers
Hearing Room 3, Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza
Presented by the Alameda County Small Business Development Center and Chase Bank
Thursday, November 12, 10 am to Noon
Mastering Oakland’s New Employment Laws Workshop, including Minimum Wage employer requirements effective January 1, 2016
Hearing Room 1, Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza
Presented by the Alameda County Small Business Development Center and Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP
Wednesday, December 2, 1 to 3 pm
Mastering Oakland’s New Employment Laws Workshop, including Minimum Wage employer requirements effective January 1, 2016
Hearing Room 1, Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza
Presented by the Alameda County Small Business Development Center and Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP
Wednesday, December 16, 1 to 3 pm
Mastering Oakland’s New Employment Laws Workshop in Cantonese for Cantonese speaking employers, including Minimum Wage employer requirements effective January 1, 2016
Hearing Room 1, Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza
Presented by the Alameda County Small Business Development Center and Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP
Employee Workshops
Workshops for employees will be scheduled for November and December. Please check back shortly for updates.
Outreach Efforts Underway
Outreach undertaken in late 2015 to educate both employers and employees about the minimum wage increase include:
- Direct mailing of an informational postcard in four languages to all registered businesses in November
- Inclusion of an informational insert in four language to in the Business License Tax Renewal mailing in December
- Distribution of 20,000 postcards throughout the community
- Ongoing social media posts
- Advertising in select newspapers including non-English outlets
- A series of informational slides on the City’s television station KTOP TV 10
- Business briefings in October, November and December
- Employee workshops in November and December
- Conducting business-by-business walks in commercial districts.
Click here to read a media release about the January 1, 2016, increase.
Oakland's New Employment Law took Effect March 2, 2015
On November 4, 2014, voters approved Oakland Measure FF which raised the minimum wage in Oakland to $12.25 on March 2, 2015. Employees who perform at least 2 hours of work in a particular workweek within Oakland - including part-time, temporary and seasonal employees - must be paid at least the minimum wage. The ordinance also adjusts the minimum wage up based on the regional Consumer Price Index (CPI). The first CPI adjustment will take effect on January 1, 2016, and ever year thereafter. The minimum wage will increase 30¢, from $12.25 to $12.55 on January 1, 2016.
Click here to read the City's media release issued on March 2, 2015.
Paid Sick Leave
Measure FF also requires employers to provide paid sick leave to any employee who performs at least 2 hours of work within Oakland.
- Employees shall accrue 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours they work. Employers may cap accrued paid sick leave earned by an employee at 40 hours for small businesses (fewer than 10 workers) and at 72 hours for other employers. Employers may set a higher cap or no cap at all.
- Employees may use paid sick leave for the employee's own illness or injury, or to care for family members or other designated persons as defined by the ordinance.
Service Charges
Measure FF also requires that hospitality employers (such as hotels, restaurants, and banquet facilities) who collect service charges from customers must pay the entirety of those charges to the hospitality workers who performed those services for which the charge was collected.
The City of Oakland will be updating this page as new information becomes available. To receive email notifications when the information is updated, please click the Subscribe for Updates link above right.
Click here to view a brief presentation on the new employment law. (Updated October 22, 2015)
Frequently Asked Questions
To assist employers and employees to better understand the new employment law, the Office of the City Attorney has issued a memorandum that answers frequently asked questions. Like other FAQs issued by the Office of the City Attorney, this is a general guide and resource, and does not constitute legal advice.
Click here to read the Frequently Asked Questions memorandum. (updated March 30, 2015)
Clarifying Regulations
Resources for Employers
Employers must post and give written notification of these rights to each current employee and to each new employee at time of hire. In some cases, notice must be given in languages other than English. To assist with this notification, the City has created the following posters.
The posters have been updated to reflect the minimum wage increase effective January 1, 2016. If you need the previous version of the notification poster, please contact Contracts & Compliance Office at (510) 238-6258 or minwageinfo@oaklandnet.com.
Click here for the Employee Notification Poster in English
Haga clic aquí para leer el poster de Aviso a Empleados en Español
按此處閱讀中文版的僱員通告.
Bấm vào đây để xem Áp phích Thông báo Tăng Lương Tối thiểu bằng Tiếng Việt
Employers are prohibited from discharging, reducing compensation or otherwise discriminating against any person who makes a complaint under the ordinance.
La Medida FF y Ley de Empleo de Oakland: Herramientas y Recursos para el Empleador
For business owners who need a referral to a service provider for additional assistance with the new employment law or general business technical assistance, please contact the City of Oakland's Business Assistance Center at www.oaklandbusinesscenter.com, (510) 238-7952 or oaklandbac@oaklandnet.com.
For Business Briefings on the January 1, 2016 increase, please see the top of this page.
Resources for Employees
If you believe that your employer is not paying you the voter-mandated minimum wage and providing paid sick leave, please complete an Employee Questionnaire & Declaration form and submit it to the City of Oakland's Contracts & Compliance Office.
Click here to download the Employee Questionnaire & Declaration form as a PDF.
SALARIO MINIMO: Cuestionario Del Empleado & Declaración en Apoyo a su Queja
Click here to download the Employee Questionnaire & Declaration form as a Word file.
For additional information, please contact the City of Oakland's Contracts & Compliance Office at (510) 238-6258 or minwageinfo@oaklandnet.com.
Employers are prohibited from discharging, reducing compensation or otherwise discriminating against any person who makes a complaint under the ordinance.
Support Oakland Businesses/Support Oakland Workers Posters & Graphics
Our partners at Oakland Grown have put together posters and graphics to get the word out and encourage the community to Support Oakland Workers and Support Oakland Businesses. Consider using these materials to help the public understand the importance of supporting local businesses as the new employment law takes effect. Click here to visit the Oakland Grown website.
Related Legislation
Contact Us
If you have questions or need additional help, please call (510) 238-6258 or email minwageinfo@oaklandnet.com.
In your message, kindly provide your name and telephone number as well as your business name and address. City staff will contact you to answer your questions and provide additional information.
