Living Wage Ordinance
EMERYVILLE LIVING WAGE GOES UP ANNUALLY ON JULY 1ST
The City of Emeryville’s Living Wage Ordinance (Chapter 31 of Title 5 of the Emeryville Municipal Code) annual increase will take effect July 1st. As provided in the ordinance, the new hourly living wage rate for 2023-2024 will be $18.00.
The Emeryville City Council adopted the Living Wage Ordinance on October 17, 2006 to assure that City employees; contractors who do business with the City; lessees of public property; recipients of City financial aid; and subcontractors earn an hourly wage that is sufficient to live with dignity and to achieve economic self-sufficiency. The ordinance went into effect July 1, 2007.
The “Living Wage” is an hourly wage level that sets wages at a level higher than the Federal or State minimum wage. Pursuant to the ordinance, the Living Wage rate can be no less than $12.00 per hour (including wages and health benefits).
The Living wage rate is adjusted annually on July 1st to reflect the 12-month average in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) for the preceding year from March through February, for which the increase may not exceed 3% in any one year. The annual Living Wage rate is adopted by City Council resolution.
The Initial wage rate and escalation schedule is summarized in the following table:
| Year | CPI | Amount |
| July 1, 2007 | $12.00 | |
| July 1, 2008 | Unknown | Unknown |
| July 1, 2009 | Unknown | $12.67 |
| July 1, 2010 | 1.10% | $12.81 |
| July 1, 2011 | 1.50% | $13.00 |
| July 1, 2012 | 2.75% | $13.36 |
| July 1, 2013 | 2.60% | $13.71 |
| July 1, 2014 | 2.30% | $14.03 |
| July 1, 2015 | 2.90% | $14.44 |
| July 1, 2016 | 2.70% | $14.83 |
| July 1, 2017 | 3.00% | $15.27 |
| July 1, 2018 | 3.00% | $15.73 |
| July 1, 2019 July 1, 2020 July 1, 2021 July 1, 2022 July 1, 2023 | 3.00% 3.00% 1.70% 3.00% 3.00% | $16.20 $16.69 $16.97 $17.48 $18.00 |
Click here to view the Living Wage Ordinance
LIVING WAGE VS. MINIMUM WAGE
The Living Wage Rate ($18.00) is lower than the Emeryville Minimum Wage Rate ($18.67). The Living Wage Rate includes both wages and health benefits whereas the Minimum Wage Rate only includes wages.
Employers who are subject to the Living Wage Ordinance, as a result of contracting with the City, must also comply with the City’s Minimum Wage Ordinance (MWO) and thus pay the higher wage rate if they are:
(1) located within Emeryville’s jurisdiction and thus otherwise subject to the MWO; or
(2) located outside of Emeryville but have staff working within the city of Emeryville on City contracted work, which staff would be covered by the MWO.
Employers who contract with the City and are both located outside of Emeryville and perform all their services outside of Emeryville, are subject only to the Living Wage Ordinance. The Living Wage rate applies only to parties who do business with the City (for profit service contracts of $25,000 or more) or receive financial assistance from the City (i.e., grants. loans, loan guarantees, in-kind services, waivers of City fees, real property, or other valuable consideration in the amount of more than $100,000 within the City’s fiscal year).
Staff can provide additional information to City contractors about both the Living Wage and the Minimum Wage, so they are aware of the different wage rates potentially applicable to their employees.