By Anthony J. Amendola

Santa Monica will become the first city in Southern California and the fourth in the state to enact a municipal paid sick leave law. The city’s Paid Sick Leave and Minimum Wage ordinance will take effect in two phases. The first phase will commence on January 1, 2017, when most Santa Monica employees will be entitled to accrue and use up to 40 hours of paid sick leave. That amount climbs to 72 hours the following year, which is three times the amount of paid sick leave that an employee must be permitted to use annually under California’s paid sick leave law. The ordinance also provides a schedule of minimum wage rates for private sector and hotel workers from July 1, 2016 through the year 2022 and regulates service charges imposed by Santa Monica businesses.

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