Pasadena’s New Minimum Wage Increase Goes Into Effect Today

Pasadena’s new minimum wage ordinance — passed last March a mere 21 days before California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a State version — goes into effect today throughout the City of Pasadena.

It is unclear, for now, just how many businesses and employees actually understand what this means.

“I think businesses are confused,” said Paul Little, Pasadena Chamber President and CEO.

Little pointed out that some business owners are puzzled about whether they should follow the Pasadena ordinance or the new state law.

“They’re not sure who they have to follow, because the State imposed a minimum wage regulation of their own that is different from what Pasadena did. I think a lot of people expect that the state takes precedence, when they don’t,” Little said.

On the employee side, Little said, many workers may be expecting a raise when in fact the only businesses required to raise minimum wages for now are Pasadena businesses with 26 or more employees.

In fact, Pasadena’s minimum wage ordinance takes precedence over the State’s law, which does not go into effect until January 1, 2017. While similarities exist, the requirements are different.

Pasadena’s minimum wage ordinance provides for a steeper increase in the minimum wage than does the State.

Pasadena’s ordinance requires all employers in Pasadena with 26 employees or more to raise the minimum wage they pay to $10.50, effective today. Employers with 25 or fewer employees are not require raise their minimum wage until July 1, 2017.

The City of Pasadena’s information point man, William Boyer, said the ordinance has “been well covered in the news media.”

“We’ve put out an awful lot of information,” Boyer said. “There’s still more information to come. It’s an ongoing process. We’re asking for everyone’s cooperation, be it an employee or employer. We’re also asking for people to have a little bit of patience as we begin the program come July 1.”

Boyer said the City has been in contact with businesses since March via direct mail as well as inserts in their utility bills, informing them about the new minimum wage requirements.

The City has also posted downloadable posters and information materials online to explain procedures for employees to send in complaints about non-compliance with the ordinance. [See: http://www.cityofpasadena.net/minimumwage/ ]

“There will be a program manager within the planning and code enforcement division to oversee this,” Boyer said.

The City has also set up complaint desks at the Jackie Robinson Center and Villa Parke Community Center where the public can get more information about the ordinance and register complaints about employer non-compliance when necessary.

Anonymous complaints will be accepted but specific documentation will be required to proceed with any complaint, officials said.

The Pasadena ordinance specifies wage increases every July 1 through 2018. For employers with 26 or more employees, the minimum wage jumps again on July 1, 2017 to $12.00, and then to $13.25 on July 1, 2018. For Pasadena businesses with 25 or fewer employees, the first raise is to $10.50 on July 1, 2017 and then next to $12.00 on July 1, 2018.

The impact of the ordinance on the local economy is expected to be reviewed by the City Council in February 2019, before continuing on upward to its eventual goal of $15 an hour in 2020.

Future raises beyond 2020 would be indexed to annual cost of living adjustments.

Nonprofit corporations with 26 or more employees may qualify for a deferral rate schedule as long as they can show proof that they fulfill certain conditions that will be clarified in a set of procedures which will be prepared by the City Manager’s office.

The ordinance was passed by a unanimous vote of the Pasadena City Council.