Emeryville Moves Forward With $14.42 Minimum Wage For Big Business July 1st

Big Business Wage $14.42

Small Business Wage $12.25

Both Meet in 2019

Tonight, the Emeryville City Council directed the City Staff to draw up a resolution for a minimum wage ordinance effective beginning July 1st that would require large Emeryville businesses to pay their workers at least $14.42 per hour.  The draft resolution will be presented by the Council at two public readings in May at which point, barring any changes subsequently made,  the ordinance will become the law of the land.  The $14.42 rate makes Emeryville the leading Bay Area municipality as far as lifting up wages of the working poor.

The Council agreed the cut-off point between big and small business will be 55 employees, including part time workers.  Small business will pay their workers at least $12.25 per hour with provisions to ramp up to meet big business in 2019 after the rate is adjusted to meet consumer price index increases.  Additionally a paid sick leave provision was agreed upon.  The only 'carve-out' concession to business the Council agreed to was a 160 hour training period for new employees 18 and under where the employer is permitted to pay workers 85% of the minimum base pay be it at the big business rate or the small business rate.
The law will effect all of Emeryville's current 2227 minimum wage workers (out of a total of 22,179 work force) who make $9 per hour now and many of the 6191 workers who currently make less than the Emeryville 'living wage' of $14.42.