The HMWO also applies to certain event centers and amusement parks. Businesses who operate event centers or amusement parks (or businesses at such locations) within the City of San Diego may have different requirements than those articulated below and should review the HMWO carefully to ensure compliance.

You can find additional information regarding the HMWO on the city’s minimum wage website. You may also contact the office of Labor Standards & Enforcement Minimum Wage program at (619) 235-5912, or via email at SDMinWage@sandiego.gov.

Coverage and Eligibility

A covered hotel employer under the HMWO is any person who owns, operates or manages:

• A hotel in the city;
• Any contracted, leased or sublet premises or facility on the grounds of a hotel, which is directly related to the hotel’s operations for at least 30 calendar days per year; or
• Any contracted services that are provided on the grounds of a hotel.2

“Person” is any natural person, firm, joint venture, joint stock company, partnership, association, club, company, corporation, business trust, organization, or the manager, lessee, agent, servant, officer or employee of any of these entities.3

A “hotel” is a privately owned facility within the city designated for lodging or other related services for the public, and containing at least 150 guest rooms or suites that persons may rent for periods of 30 days or fewer.4 “Hotel” also includes all restaurants, bars, banquet halls, events spaces, retail shops, parking facilities, spas, and other facilities located on the grounds of a hotel.

A “hotel” does not include a facility used for short-term residential occupancy.

An “employee” entitled to the rights and protections under the HMWO is any person who:

• Performs at least two hours of work within the city for a covered employer in one or more calendar weeks of the year;
• Performs work that is directly related to the covered employer’s hotel;
• Qualifies as an employee entitled to payment of minimum wage from any employer California law; and
• Is not an independent contractor as defined under California law.5

Minimum Wage Rates

As of July 1, 2026, the city’s hospitality minimum wage for hotel employees is $19.00 per hour.

Future minimum wage rates are as follows:

• $20.50 per hour beginning July 1, 2027
• $22.00 per hour beginning July 1, 2028
• $23.50 per hour beginning July 1, 2029
• $25.00 per hour beginning July 1, 2030

• Beginning July 1, 2031, the rate is adjusted based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

• The San Diego hospitality minimum wage is higher than either the California state minimum wage or the standard San Diego minimum wage. You must pay the (higher) San Diego hospitality minimum wage to employees who are eligible for it.

Notice Requirements

Hotel employers must post an official, city provided notice specifying the hospitality minimum wage rates under the HMWO. This notice must be in English, and any language spoken by at least five percent of the hotel’s employees at the employee’s worksite and must be posted in a conspicuous place at all locations where employees work.6 The official, city-provided notice can be found here.

Hotel employers must also provide written notice to all employees on July 1, 2026 and upon hire thereafter that includes the hospitality employer’s legal name and any fictitious business names, address, telephone number, and the hospitality requirements under the HMWO. This notice must be provided in English and in the employee’s primarily language if a city provided template is available in that language and the language is spoken by at least five percent of the employees at the worksite. This notice may be provided electronically in lieu of a hard copy.7

Hotel employers that fail to comply with the notice requirements are subject to a civil penalty of $500 for each violation, up to a maximum of $2,000.8

Employer Records

Hotel employers must keep contemporaneous records of dates and all hours worked consistent with California law. Such records must be maintained for at least three years and must be made available to city enforcement officials in the event of an investigation or compliance review.9

Retaliation

Hotel employers are prohibited from threatening, intimidating, harassing, disciplining, discharging, demoting, suspending, or taking any other adverse employment action against any hotel employees who assert their rights under the HMWO, such as opposing any practice prohibited by the HMWO, participating in proceedings related to the HMWO, or seeking to enforce their own rights under the HMWO. Hotel employees asserting these and any other rights under the HMWO are protected from retaliation. Any adverse employment action taken within 90 days of the employee’s exercise of any right under the HMWO raises a rebuttable presumption of retaliation.10

Hotel employers that retaliate against an employee are liable for liquidated damages payable to the employee. For violations not resulting in termination, damages are the greater of double back wages or $1,000 for each violation. If the employee is terminated for exercising their rights under the HMWO, damages are the greater of double back wages or $3,000. Employers are also subject to a civil penalty, payable to the city, ranging from $1,000 to $3,000.11

Enforcement and Penalties/Fines

Any employee claiming a violation of the HMWO may file a complaint with the city’s Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement (OLSE) Compliance Department or file a lawsuit. Exhaustion of administrative remedies is not a requirement for an employee to file a lawsuit.12

A hospitality employer that fails to cooperate with or respond to the city’s OLSE Compliance Department within the required time is subject to a civil penalty of $1,000.13

The following remedies may be imposed on a hotel employer found to have violated the HMWO.14

• Payment of back wages for unpaid minimum wage or overtime wages;
• Reinstatement of employment or other injunctive relief;
• Reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs to any prevailing employee;
• Payment of liquidated damages to the employee(s) in an amount equal to double the amount owed;
• Civil penalty payable to the city ranging from $500 to $1,000 per violation, per day.

Exemptions and Waivers

The minimum wage requirements of the HMWO may be waived 15 by clear and unambiguous terms in a bona fide collective bargaining agreement. A hotel employer may not rely on unilaterally imposed wages that fall below or conflict with the HMWO requirements as an exemption. To claim the exemption, hotel employers must provide the city’s enforcement office with a complete copy of the collective bargaining agreement. 16

1. San Diego Mun. Code secs. 312.0101 - 312.0112