Minimum Wage Rate

• Effective July 1, 2026, the Berkeley minimum wage is$19.61 per hour
2

For "Employee Youth Works" and participants up to 25 years old in youth job training programs operated by a non-profit corporation or a government entity, the minimum wage will increase in the same amounts and on the same terms as for all other employers.3

Future rate increases will be made annually based on the Regional Consumer Price Index.

• The Berkeley minimum wage is higher than the standard California state minimum wage but not the state minimum wage rates for the fast food and health care industries, respectively. You must pay the higher minimum wage to employees eligible for it. For more information on the state minimum wage rates, see the HR Library’s Minimum Wage.

You can find the current Berkeley minimum wage on the city's website.

Coverage and Eligibility

A covered employee (employee) under the MWO is any employee who:

• Performs at least two hours of work in one calendar week in Berkeley, whether full or part-time; and
• Is entitled to payment of a minimum wage under California law or participates in a welfare-to-work program.4

You must pay employees at least the Berkeley minimum wage for each hour worked in the city. This does not include tips, gratuity or money that has been voluntarily paid to an employee by customers.5 The Berkeley minimum wage applies to employees working in the city, regardless of where the employer is located or whether the employee is a Berkeley resident.

You also may not increase charges to employees for parking, meals, uniforms or other items, or decrease benefits to non-management employees to pay for the costs of the increased hourly wage rate imposed by this MWO, unless the cost of such items has increased by the commensurate amount.6 This prohibition does not apply to medical benefits.

Employees cannot waive their right to receive at least the Berkeley minimum wage, except through a clear and unambiguous waiver in a valid collective bargaining agreement.7

You do not need to pay the Berkeley minimum wage to individuals who are not entitled to the state minimum wage. For more information on these types of employees, see Minimum Wage.

Posting, Notice and Recordkeeping Requirements

The MWO requires you to post an official, city-provided notice specifying the minimum wage and describing employee rights. The notification must be posted prominently at the work site where it will be seen by employees. The city will publish the notice in all languages spoken by more than 5 percent of the workforce in the city.

However, because you must display the notice in all languages spoken by five percent or more of the employees at each of your business locations, even if not one of the city-identified languages, you may have to translate the city-provided notice.8

• Berkeley Labor Law Poster

In addition, you must display the California Minimum Wage Order, which can be found on CalChamber’s California and Federal Labor Law posters.

• California and Federal Labor Law Posters

At the time of hire, you must provide employees your company's name, address, and telephone number in writing.9

State law also requires you to provide Wage and Employment Notice to Employees (Labor Code section 2810.5) at the time of hire to all nonexempt employees that includes this information and meets the obligation under the MWO.10 Learn more about the notice at New Employee Orientation.

You also are 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.11

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.

Enforcement

The MWO is enforced by the city and the Department of Finance (the Department), or by another department as designated by the city.12

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.13 The Department is required to make every effort to resolve complaints informally before initiating an enforcement action.14

If the Department determines that an employer has violated the MWO, the city may issue an administrative citation with a fine of up to $500 for failing to post any required notice, failing to maintain payroll records, or failing to allow the city access to the records. The city may issue a fine of $1,000 if the Department determines that the employer retaliated against an employee. For more information, see Retaliation on this page.

The city may also issue a fine based on appropriate remedies. For repeated violations, the city may impose a fine payable to the city of $50 for each day for each person whose rights were violated.15 The department also has the authority to take other enforcement actions, such as revoking or suspending your permits or licenses until the violation is remedied.16

In addition, aggrieved employees, the city, an entity acting on behalf of a member who is an aggrieved employee, or an entity or person acting on behalf of employees or the public, may file a civil lawsuit for any violation of the ordinance.17

Remedies for violations of the MWO may include:

• Reinstatement;
• Back pay;
• Penalties of $50 owed to each employee for each day that the violation occurred in addition to fines;
• Interest on wages owed;
• Reimbursement of the city's administrative costs of enforcement; and
• Attorneys' fees and costs.18

The California Labor Commissioner also has the authority to investigate and enforce local minimum wage and overtime provisions, including 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.

Retaliation

Employees who assert their rights under the MWO are protected from retaliation.19 For example, employees have the right to complain to their employer that they are not being paid the Berkeley minimum wage; file formal complaints; inform other employees of their right to the Berkeley minimum wage; or 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 this action was retaliation. The employer will have to offer evidence to rebut this presumption.20

1. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.99.030C

2. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.99.040B

3. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.99.040C

4. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.99.030C

5. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.99.050

6. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.99.070B

7. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.99.055

8. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.99.060A, B, E

9. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.99.060B

10. Lab. Code sec. 2810.5

11. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.99.060C

12. Berkeley Mun. Code secs. 13.99.030B, 13.99.090A

13. Berkeley Mun. Code secs. 13.99.080B, 13.99.090

14. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.99.080D

15. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.99.090E(4)

16. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.99.090D

17. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.99.090A(3), B

18. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.99.090E

19. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.99.070A

20. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.99.070C