California employment laws are exhaustive and comprehensive compliance may serve to be challenging for employers, especially when taking into account the patchwork of local ordinances pertaining to minimum wage, paid sick leave, and more.

At the minimum, employers doing business in the City of San Diego (City) should be aware of and in compliance with the following local ordinances:

Minimum Wage

Effective January 1, 2022, minimum wage for employers within the geographic boundaries of the City is $15.00, regardless of the business’ size.

Earned Sick Leave

The City also has its own paid sick leave ordinance. Employers may provide sick leave through an accrual method of 1 hour for every 30 hours worked or a front-loaded method of no less than 40 hours at the beginning of the benefit year.

Employers may limit an employer’s usage of earned leave to 40 hours per benefit year.

An employee may use earned sick leave for any of the following reasons:

• The employee is physically or mentally unable to perform his or her duties due to illness, injury, or a medical condition.

• The employee’s absence is to obtain a professional diagnosis or treatment for a medical condition.

• The employee’s absence is for other medical reasons such as pregnancy or obtaining a physical examination.

• The employee is providing care or assistance to a family member, with an illness, injury, or medical condition, including assistance in obtaining professional diagnosis or treatment of a medical condition.

• The employee’s absence is necessary to obtain services due to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

• The employee’s place of business is closed by order of a public official due to a Public Health Emergency, or the employee is providing care or assistance to a child, whose school or childcare provider is closed by order of a public official due to a Public Health Emergency.

Posting and Notice

Every employer must post the earned sick leave and minimum wage notice published by the City in a visible place at any workplace or job site where an employee works.

Employers must also provide written notice to the employee of: the employer’s legal name, any fictitious business names, address, telephone number, and employer requirements of the ordinance including the employer’s method of providing earned sick leave.

Links to the notice and poster published by the city are available on the City’s compliance page.