Pasadena Minmum Wage
At the State of the City address, Mayor Terry Tornek announced that minimum wage increases would come to the City Council on February 1, 2016.
We are not sure if a decision is anticipated at that time, but anyone with contact with a Pasadena City Council member should take time to communicate with that person.
The issue will again be in front of the Economic Development and Technology Committee on January 27, 2016, at 6pm in the City Council Chambers at Pasadena City Hall.
We would ask that you express any information you can on how your business would cope with the proposed minimum wage increases.
You can email the City Council at city_council@cityofpasadena.net. If you have relationships with any of the individual members of the City Council, phone calls, emails or meeting with them to discuss impacts to your business could be very helpful. If you can, please also send a copy of any correspondence to City Clerk Mark Jomsky at mjomsky@cityofpasadena.net so it can be part of the public comment record on the issue.
It is expected that the Ed Tech Committee will consider and (likely) support the increase to $15 per hour by 2020 as has been done now by Los Angeles City and County and Santa Monica. Here is the staff report and recommendation for the Committee and the City Council: 
Minimum Wage City Staff Agenda Report and Recommendation 1-16.pdf
The Pasadena Chamber, recognizing that some action will be taken on the issue, has proposed an increase to $12.50 per hour by 2020. We also proposed a one year extension of implementation on small businesses and non-profits. We also asked that they add a total earnings model, so that all income an employee makes (including commissions, tips, etc.) are counted toward the minimum wage. Click here to download the Chamber proposal: Pasadena Chamber of Commerce MINIMUM WAGE PROPOSAL- January 2016.pdf
Here are links to the research and information the Pasadena Chamber submitted with our proposal to the City of Pasadena:
Chamber 11-15 minimum wage presentation FINAL.pptx.- Local Minimum Wage Analysis BC 8-15.pdf
- Minimum Wage Analysis JH 8-15.pdf
- Pasadena Minimum Wage Points -Peer Review - Local economist (ret.).pdf
- Why I Oppose a $15 Minimum Wage in Pasadena by Robert L Moore.pdf
- WSJ Lost Wages of Youth.pdf
- Time magazine 10-5-15 faster food.pdf
- WSJ teen angst.pdf
- LA Business Journal Tabled Tips 11-3-15 pt 1.pdf
- LA Business Journal Tabled Tips 11-3-15 pt 2.pdf
- Investor's Business Daily_ 2% Of Economists Say $15 Minimum Wage Will Boost GDP.pdf
If you are supportive, endorsing the plan by the Pasadena Chamber as an alternative to $15 per hour could also be helpful.
If you are available, please attend the meeting of the Economic Development and Technology Committee at 6pm at Pasadena City Hall next Wednesday evening, January 27th. The greater the attendance by interested business community members, the more impact we may have on the deliberations. If you want to speak on the issue, there is an opportunity during public comment for you to do so. (Fill out the speaker’s card and submit it to provide your input at the meeting.)
Also, please plan to attend the meeting of the Pasadena City Council on Monday, February 1, 2016. City Council meetings generally start at 6:30pm, but I will provide more information on the schedule as the meeting gets closer.
Feel free to pass this information along.
Long Beach City Council Passes $13 Minimum Wage Ordinance
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Tuesday evening, January 19, 2016, The Long Beach City Council passed a $13 per hour minimum wage increase by a vote of 6-2 (Council members Supernaw and Mungo were the opposing votes.) This outcome COULD BE a smart step forward in the regional dialogue on this issue, HOWEVER the devil is always in the details, which are…
The final Long Beach minimum wage ordinance:
- Raised the minimum wage to $13 per hour by 2019. $10.50 in 2017, $12.00 in 2018, and $13.00 in 2019.
- Qualified non-profits and small business with 25 or fewer employees get an additional year to implement.
- Youth Training Wage of 85% of the local minimum wage for six months or 480 hours.
- Starting in 2023, the wage would be indexed to inflation
- Vital detail not to be taken lightly: there will be a study commissioned in 2019, and if no negative impacts are found related to the minimum wage increase, it will increase to $14 in 2020 and $15 in 2021.
- In a positive move: the Council included a report back from the City Attorney addressing the issue of having a separate provision to address total earnings for tipped employees.
This is the first moderation from other jurisdictions in our region from the $15 an hour by 2020 with CPI increases there after.