You can find more information regarding the MWO on the city's website. You may also contact the Employment and Training Department by calling (510) 307-8011.

Minimum Wage Rate

• Effective January 1, 2026, the Richmond minimum wage is $19.18 per hour, up from the 2025 rate of $17.77 per hour. This year’s increase and future annual increases are tied to the Regional Consumer Price Index.2

• The Richmond 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, effective April 1, 2024, and October 16, 2024, 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 Richmond 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 Richmond, whether full or part-time; and
• Is entitled to payment of a California minimum wage or is a participant in a welfare to work program.3

You must pay employees at least the Richmond minimum wage for each hour worked in Richmond. The Richmond minimum wage applies to employees working in Richmond, regardless of where the employer is located or whether the employee is a Richmond resident.

You may reduce the wage paid employees by up to $1.50 per employee, if you provide employees a medical benefit plan. The medical benefit plan must allow employees “to receive employer-compensated care from a licensed physician.”4

Employees cannot waive their right to receive at least the Richmond minimum wage, except through a valid collective bargaining agreement.5

You do not need to pay the Richmond 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 city will publish this notice in all languages spoken by more than 5 percent of the workforce in the city. You must post the notice, in all languages spoken by at least five percent of the employees at the workplace or job site in a conspicuous place at all locations where employees work.6

• Richmond Minimum Wage 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

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.7 More information about the notice can be found at New Employee Orientation.

You also are required to retain payroll records pertaining to employees for a period of four years. The city must be allowed to access these records with appropriate notice and at a mutually agreeable time.8

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. The employer will have to offer evidence to rebut this presumption.

Enforcement

The MWO is enforced by the Richmond Employment and Training Department (the department).9

The department may conduct investigations and take administrative actions to enforce the MWO. If the department conducts an investigation into whether the employer violated the MWO, the employer may be required to post a notice on a form provided by the department informing employees of the investigation.10

The department may issue an administrative citation with a fine of up to $50 per day for each employee to whom the violation occurred.11 The city also has the authority to take other enforcement actions, such as revoking or suspending permits or licenses held or requested by the employer, until the violation is remedied.12

In addition, the department, aggrieved employees, entities acting on behalf of a member who is an aggrieved employee, or persons or entities acting on behalf of the public may file a civil lawsuit for any violation of the MWO.13

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 the fines; interest on wages owed; reimbursement of the city’s administrative costs of enforcement; and attorneys’ fees and costs14

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.

Retaliation

Employees who assert their rights under the MWO are protected against retaliation.15 For example, employees have the right to complain to their employer that they are not being paid the Richmond minimum wage; file formal complaints; inform other employees of their right to the Richmond 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, the employer’s action will be presumed to be retaliatory. The employer will have to offer evidence to rebut this presumption.16

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1. Richmond Mun. Code sec. 7.108.040

2. Richmond Mun. Code sec. 7.108.040(A)(2), (3)

3. Richmond Mun. Code secs. 7.108.030(C), 7.108.040(A)

4. Richmond Mun. Code sec. 7.108.040(A)(5)

5. Richmond Mun. Code sec. 7.108.050

6. Richmond Mun. Code sec. 7.108.060(A), (B)

7. Lab. Code sec. 2810.5

8. Richmond Mun. Code sec. 7.108.060(C)

9. Richmond Mun. Code secs. 7.108.030(B), 7.108.090(A)

10. Richmond Mun. Code secs. 7.108.080(B), 7.108.090(A), (C)

11. Richmond Mun. Code sec. 7.108.090(C)(1)

12. Richmond Mun. Code sec. 7.108.090(F)

13. Richmond Mun. Code sec. 7.108.090(D)

14. Richmond Mun. Code sec. 7.108.090(G)

15. Richmond Mun. Code sec. 7.108.070

16. Richmond Mun. Code sec. 7.108.070