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The city of Alameda (the city) enacted a minimum wage ordinance (the MWO) that requires you to pay any employee who works at least two hours in one calendar week within the geographic boundaries of the city of Alameda at the local minimum wage rate (the Alameda minimum wage).1
Read about the July 1, 2026, minimum wage increase.
The MWO applies to your business if you are subject to Alameda’s business license requirements or if you maintain a business facility in Alameda.2 If you conduct any business in Alameda, even if you do not have a facility there, the MWO likely applies to your business.
You can find more information regarding the MWO at the city's webpage. You may also call (510) 747-6807 or by email minimumwage@alamedaca.gov.
Future rate increases will be made annually based on the Regional Consumer Price Index, up to five percent.3
You can find the current Alameda minimum wage on the city's website.
A covered employee (employee) under the MWO is any employee, whether adult or minor, who:
You must pay employees at least the Alameda minimum wage for each hour worked in Alameda, not including tips and gratuities. The Alameda minimum wage applies to employees working in Alameda, regardless of where the employer is located or whether the employee is an Alameda resident.5
You may not reduce the hourly wage to any employee or increase charges to employees for parking, meals, uniforms or other items, or decrease benefits to employees to pay for the costs of the increased hourly wage imposed by the MWO.6
You do not need to pay the Alameda minimum wage to individuals who are not entitled to the state minimum wage.7 For more information on these types of employees, see the HR Library's Minimum Wage.
You can find additional information regarding application of the MWO in a Frequently Asked Questions document at the bottom of the city's Minimum Wage webpage.
The MWO requires you to post official, city-provided notice specifying the minimum wage and describing employee rights under the MWO. The city will publish this notice in the top five languages spoken by residents of the city as determined by the city manager. The notice must be posted prominently in areas of the work site where it will be seen by all employees.8
In addition, you must display the California Minimum Wage Order, which can be found on CalChamber’s California and Federal Labor Law posters.
You are also required to retain payroll records pertaining to employees for a period of four years. You must allow the city access to the records with appropriate notice and at a mutually agreeable time.9
If you do not keep adequate records documenting wages paid, or you do not allow the city reasonable access to payroll records, the employee’s account of how much they were paid will be presumed to be accurate. You will have to offer evidence to rebut this presumption.10
The MWO is enforced by the city and the Community Development Department (the department), or by another department as designated by the city.11
The department may conduct investigations, and the department or the city may take administrative action to enforce the MWO. If the department investigates whether the employer violated the MWO, the employer will be required to post a notice on a form provided by the department informing employees of the investigation.12 The department is required to make every effort to resolve complaints informally and in a timely manner.13
In addition, aggrieved employees or the city may file a civil lawsuit for any violation of the MWO.14 Remedies for violations may include: reinstatement; back pay; penalties of $50 owed to each employee for each day that the violation occurred; interest on wages owed; reimbursement of the city’s administrative costs of enforcement; and attorneys’ fees and costs. The city may also issue a civil penalty, payable to the city, in the amount of $50 for each employee whose rights were violated, for each day that the violation occurred. This is in addition to the penalties payable to employees.15
The California Labor Commissioner also has the authority to investigate and enforce local minimum wage and overtime provisions, including such provisions in the MWO, and to issue citations and penalties against employers for violations. However, the Labor Commissioner and the city cannot both cite the employer for the same violation.
Employees who assert their rights under the MWO are protected from retaliation.16 For example, employees have the right to complain to their employer that they are not being paid the Alameda minimum wage; file formal complaints; inform other employees of their right to the Alameda minimum wage; or to assist other employees in asserting their rights.
If an employer takes adverse action against an employee within 90 days after the employee asserted rights protected by the MWO, it will be presumed the action was retaliation. The employer will have to offer evidence to rebut this presumption.17
1. Alameda Mun. Code secs. 4-60.30, 4-60.40
2. Alameda Mun. Code secs. 4-60.30, 5-2 et seq.; also see Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), Nos. 1 and 2
3. Alameda Mun. Code sec. 4-60.40(b)
4. Alameda Mun. Code secs. 4-60.30, 4-60.75
5. Alameda Mun. Code sec. 4-60.40(a), (c); also see FAQs, No. 9
6. Alameda Mun. Code sec. 4-60.40(d)
7. Alameda Mun. Code secs. 4-60.30, 4-60.40(a)
8. Alameda Mun. Code sec. 4-60.50(a), (b)
9. Alameda Mun. Code sec. 4-60.50(c)
10. Alameda Mun. Code sec. 4-60.50(c)
11. Alameda Mun. Code secs. 4-60.60, 4-60.65(a)
12. Alameda Mun. Code sec. 4-60.60(a)-(c)
13. Alameda Mun. Code sec. 4-60.60(d)
14. Alameda Mun. Code sec. 4-60.65(b)
15. Alameda Mun. Code sec. 4-60.65(c)
16. Alameda Mun. Code sec. 4-60.55
17. Alameda Mun. Code sec. 4-60.55