Skip to Main Content
Our Commitment to Diversity

The Essentials - California Employment Law Update

Welcome to The Essentials—A Summary of New Developments in California Employment Law

Date: 5 August 2021
Labor, Employment, and Workplace Safety Alert

In this edition, we spotlight two key California labor and employment developments, a recent California Supreme Court ruling relating to meal and rest break premiums paid at the regular rate of pay (Ferra), and a reminder about local minimum wage updates. Here is a look back at July:

MINIMUM WAGE UPDATES:

Remember to update local minimum wage requirements. Many counties/cities require their local minimum wage to be updated every July. Below is a summary of the updates:

California Jurisdiction Minimum Wage Rate / Hour
Alameda US$15.00
Belmont US$15.90 
Berkeley US$16.32
Burlingame US$15.00
Cupertino US$15.65
Daly City US$15.00
East Palo Alto US$15.00
El Cerrito US$15.61
Emeryville US$17.13
Fremont US$15.00 (25 or fewer employees)
US$15.25 (26 or more employees)
Half Moon Bay US$15.00
Hayward US$14.00 (25 or fewer employees)
US$15.00 (26 or more employees)
Long Beach US$15.69 (hotel workers)
US$15.32 (concessionaire workers)
Los Altos US$15.65
Los Angeles US$15.00 
US$17.64 (hotel workers)
Malibu US$15.00
Menlo Park US$15.25
Milpitas US$15.65
Mountain View US$16.30
Novato US$15.24 (100 or more employees)
US$15.00 (26-99 employees)
US$14.00 (25 or fewer employees)
Oakland US$14.36
Palo Alto US$15.65
Pasadena US$15.00
Petaluma US$15.20
Redwood City US$15.62
Richmond US$15.21
San Carlos US$15.24
San Diego US$14.00
San Francisco US$16.32
San Jose US$15.45
San Leandro US$15.00
San Mateo US$15.62
Santa Clara US$15.65
Santa Monica US$15.00
Santa Rosa US$15.20
Sonoma US$14.00 (25 or fewer employees)
US$15.00 (26 or more employees)
South San Francisco US$15.25
Sunnyvale US$16.30

Please also remember that the state minimum wage changes on 1 January. 

FERRA v. LOEWS HOLLYWOOD HOTEL, LLC1

California Supreme Court ruled that meal and rest period premiums must be paid at the “regular rate” rather than the base rate of pay. The decision is also retroactive. A more detailed summary is available here. Also, see Penny Chen’s article in Law360 “Next Steps for Employers After California Break Premium Ruling” for further analysis and insights.

To learn more about the implications of Ferra, join members of the California K&L Gates labor, employment, and workplace safety team at an upcoming webinar on 19 August at 10:00 a.m. PT. For more details, please contact us

Please feel free to reach out to any of our California Labor, Employment, and Workplace Safety lawyers with any questions. 

Eugene C. Ryu
Eugene C. Ryu
Los Angeles
San Francisco
Saman Rejali
Saman Rejali
Los Angeles

This publication/newsletter is for informational purposes and does not contain or convey legal advice. The information herein should not be used or relied upon in regard to any particular facts or circumstances without first consulting a lawyer. Any views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the law firm's clients.

Return to top of page

Email Disclaimer

We welcome your email, but please understand that if you are not already a client of K&L Gates LLP, we cannot represent you until we confirm that doing so would not create a conflict of interest and is otherwise consistent with the policies of our firm. Accordingly, please do not include any confidential information until we verify that the firm is in a position to represent you and our engagement is confirmed in a letter. Prior to that time, there is no assurance that information you send us will be maintained as confidential. Thank you for your consideration.

Accept Cancel