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The city of West Hollywood (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 at the local minimum wage rate (the West Hollywood minimum wage).
The MWO applies to your business if it employs or exercises control over the wages, hours or working conditions of any employee works at least two hours in one calendar week within the geographic boundaries of the city.1
You can find more information regarding the MWO on the city's website, including the Administrative Regulations.2 You may also email business@weho.org or call the city at (323) 848-6460.
Future rate increases will be made annually based on the Regional Consumer Price Index.
You can find the current West Hollywood minimum wage on the city's website.
A covered employee (employee) under the MWO is any employee who:
An employee who lives in the city and performs work for an employer from home, including telecommuting, is subject to the MWO.
The MWO will apply to an employee who physically works within the city limits, even if the employer’s place of business is not physically located within the city. An employee of an employer that is located outside the city will only be paid the MWO for time worked within the city. Employees who work outside the city by traveling through it without stopping are not subject to the MWO.4
Employees cannot waive their right to receive at least the West Hollywood minimum wage, except through a bona fide collective bargaining agreement that explicitly waives the MWO provisions in clear and unambiguous terms that are agreed to by both parties to the agreement.5
The MWO expressly excludes “learners” as defined by Labor Code section 1192 and consistent with the wage orders published by the IWC from the West Hollywood minimum wage.6 Once an employee no longer qualifies for the learner minimum wage, employers must pay eligible employees at the applicable West Hollywood minimum wage.7 For more information about employees eligible for the learner minimum wage, see Minimum Wage.
You can find additional information regarding application of the MWO in a Frequently Asked Questions webpage.
A “hotel employer” means any individual or entity that operates a hotel (meaning a premises with guest rooms or suites, rented to the general public for overnight or other lodging but not intended to be the guest’s domicile) or a business within a hotel premises within the geographical boundaries of the city of West Hollywood.
A “hotel worker” means an individual whose primary place of employment is at one or more hotels and who is employed directly by a hotel employer. 8
The MWO implements separate rules for employers specific to “service charges,” which are defined as any separate amount charged to customers that is designated to account for service by employees or is described in such a way that customers reasonably believe the charge is for services by employees or is paid directly to employees.9 The MWO provides several examples of charges described in this manner such as “service charge,” “table charge,” “porterage charge,” “automatic gratuity charge,” “health care surcharge,” “benefits surcharge,” or other similar language. Service charges do not include tips or gratuities as defined by California or federal law.
The following rules do not apply to any tip, gratuity, or money left for an employee by customers over and above the actual amount dues for services rendered or goods sold.10 For more information about how to properly account for and pay employees for tips and gratuities received, see Tips and Gratuities.
Employers must distribute all service charges collected to those employees who performed services for which the charge was paid, and no part of these service charges may be distributed to supervisory or managerial employees.11 Any health care-related surcharges shall be deposited into the health care accounts controlled by the employees or directly to the employee in the form of wage. No amount of health care-related surcharges may be retained by the employer.12
Prior to collecting the service charge, the service charge must be disclosed to consumers with a clear and conspicuous notice that allows the consumer to determine the purpose of the service charge.13 If the service charge is designated as optional, then the employer may only collect that charge if the consumer affirmatively opts-in to the charge.14
Employers must disclose their plan for sharing service charges and shall report to employees on each payroll date the amount of service charges collected, and amounts distributed for the pay period related to that payroll date.15
Service charges must be paid to employees no later than the next payroll following the collection of the service charges unless the charges were paid in cash which must be provided to employees the day the cash service charges were collected.16
An employer may not make deductions from service charges paid to employees when the service charges are paid by credit card due to any credit card fees related to the transaction.17
An employer may not use a service charge as a credit toward its obligations to pay West Hollywood’s minimum wage rates.
The MWO requires you to post an official, city-provided notice, specifying the minimum wage and describing employee rights. You must post this notice in English, Spanish and any language spoken by at least 5 percent of the employees at the workplace or jobsite.18 The notices must be posted in a conspicuous place at all locations where employees work.19
In addition, you must display the California Minimum Wage Order, which can be found on CalChamber's California and Federal Labor Law posters.
At the time of hire, you must provide employees a written notice with your company's name, address and telephone number in writing.20
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. 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 no less than three years.
The MWO allows you to apply for a one-year, one-time, waiver if you are able to demonstrate that compliance with the payment of the minimum wage would force your business to: file bankruptcy or a shutdown, reduce your workforce by more than twenty percent, or curtail your employees’ total hours by more than thirty percent.
To file your waiver application, please follow these steps:
For questions regarding the Waiver Application, please email business@weho.org.
The city may conduct investigations and take administrative actions to enforce the MWO.21
If the city determines that an employer violated the MWO, the city may issue an administrative citation and penalties for each day, or part of a day, and for each employee or person whose rights under the MWO were violated.22 Any employer found violating the MWO shall be required to reimburse the law enforcement agency that investigated the violation the full amount of the investigation costs.23
In addition, aggrieved employees, or an entity or person acting on behalf of the public, may file a civil lawsuit for any violation of the MWO.24
Remedies for violation of the MWO may include reinstatement; back pay; penalties of $100 owed to each employee for each day that the violation occurred; any injunctive relief ordered by the court; and attorneys' fees and costs.25
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 against retaliation.26 For example, employees have the right to complain to their employer that they are not being paid the West Hollywood minimum wage; file formal complaints; inform other employees of their right to the West Hollywood 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.27 The employer will have to offer evidence to rebut this presumption.
1. West Hollywood Mun. Code sec. 5.130.010(3) (May 2023)
2. City of West Hollywood Minimum Wage Ordinance Administrative Regulations (May 12, 2023)
3. West Hollywood Mun. Code sec. 5.130.010(3)
4. City of West Hollywood Minimum Wage Ordinance Administrative Regulations, pg. 2. (May 12, 2023)
5. West Hollywood Mun. Code sec. 5.130.090
6. West Hollywood Mun. Code sec. 5.130.020(d)
7. West Hollywood Mun. Code sec. 5.130.020(d)
8. City of West Hollywood Mun. Code, Tit. 5, Art. 5, sec. 5.130.020(b)(1)
9. West Hollywood Mun. Code sec. 5.130.010(6)
10. West Hollywood Mun. Code sec. 5.130.050(h)
11. West Hollywood Mun. Code sec. 5.130.050(a)
12. West Hollywood Mun. Code sec. 5.130.050(a)
13. West Hollywood Mun. Code sec. 5.130.050(b)
14. West Hollywood Mun. Code sec. 5.130.050(c)
15. West Hollywood Mun. Code sec. 5.130.050(d)
16. West Hollywood Mun. Code sec. 5.130.050(e)
17. West Hollywood Mun. Code sec. 5.130.020(f)
18.West Hollywood Mun. Code sec. 5.130.020(e)
19..West Hollywood Mun. Code sec. 5.130.020(e)
20West Hollywood Mun. Code sec. 5.130.020(e)
21West Hollywood Mun. Code sec. 5.130.140
22. West Hollywood Mun. Code secs. 5.130.150(c)-(b)
23. West Hollywood Mun. Code sec. 5.130.140(d)
24. West Hollywood Mun. Code sec. 5.130.150
25. West Hollywood Mun. Code sec. 5.130.150(b)
26. West Hollywood Mun. Code sec. 5.130.120(a)
27. West Hollywood Mun. Code sec. 5.130.120(b)