Council gives the City Attorney new wage theft powers ahead of the 2027 minimum wage rise
The amendments approved Tuesday let the City Attorney sue employers who commit wage theft and recover what workers are owed, including overtime, and they align city sick leave rules with state law before the minimum wage reaches $18.35 on Jan. 1.
SAN DIEGO: The City Council voted Tuesday to give the City Attorney explicit authority to go after wage theft in civil court, approving amendments to the city's Earned Sick Leave and Minimum Wage Ordinance in a vote that television coverage of the meeting described as unanimous.
The item, listed on the Oct. 13 agenda as Item S502, amends six sections of the municipal code (Sections 39.0104, 39.0105, 39.0106, 39.0107, 39.0112 and 39.0113), according to the council president's agenda preview. Its stated aims are to enhance the city's ability to combat wage theft and to align the city's earned sick leave requirements with existing state law.
Councilmembers Marni von Wilpert and Sean Elo-Rivera unveiled the proposal on Oct. 8 at a press conference with workers, business owners and community members. As unveiled, the amendments give the City Attorney the authority to pursue civil action against employers who commit wage theft and to recover what workers are owed, including overtime pay.
A raise that only counts if it arrives
The timing is set by the calendar. On Jan. 1, 2027, the city's minimum wage rises from $17.75 to $18.35 per hour, and the sponsors framed the enforcement changes as the mechanism that makes the raise real in paychecks rather than only on paper.
The city's agenda materials describe wage theft as a widespread and underreported form of economic harm in San Diego, taking many forms and depriving workers of wages and benefits they have legally earned, with federal Labor Department data showing significant amounts of unpaid wages recovered each year while many violations still go unreported.
The ordinance the council amended covers individuals who perform work within the city's geographic boundaries and already provides a higher minimum wage than California law. The amendments also close a gap the proposal's backers identified in the municipal code, which lacked authorization for civil wage theft recovery.
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