Public invited to comment on proposals to change Sonoma County’s Living Wage Ordinance

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors is seeking public input on a series of proposed changes to the county’s Living Wage Ordinance during a special meeting on Monday, June 12.

The board is expected to discuss whether to require employers to offer paid time off to workers covered by the ordinance. The board is also considering whether to expand the ordinance to cover concessionaires and tenants on county-owned property, including the Sonoma County Fairgrounds and the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport.

Finally, the board will consider whether to specify a cap on future cost-of-living adjustments and whether to do a periodic adjustment of the hourly living wage rate apart from the annual COLA increase.

The public portion of the meeting will begin at approximately 9:30 a.m. on June 12. The public may comment on the proposals by attending the meeting on Zoom or in person at the Board of Supervisors’ chambers, located at 575 Administration Drive in Santa Rosa. Written comments may be sent to bos@sonoma-county.org, with “Living Wage – public comment” indicated in the subject line.

A staff report on the proposals and link to the Zoom meeting will be posted in the agenda for the meeting on the Board of Supervisors’ website at https://sonoma-county.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx.

The Living Wage Ordinance creates a baseline wage for individuals employed directly by the county government and workers in private companies and nonprofits that contract with the County of Sonoma. The ordinance generally applies to private companies with six or more employees, if they supply $25,000 annually or more in contracted services to the county, and to nonprofits that have 25 or more employees and supply more than $50,000 annually in services to the county. The requirements also apply to entities that annually receive more than $100,000 in economic development assistance.

The Board of Supervisors approved two increases in the living wage in December and March. Combined, the increases will boost the hourly wage by 5 percent this year to $17.65, effective July 1 for new county contracts and Sept. 30 for existing county contracts. Employers who contribute to workers’ health care or retirement benefits receive a credit of $1.50 off the hourly rate while employers who contribute to both health care and retirement benefits receive a credit of $3 off the hourly rate.

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Media Contact: 
Ted Appel, Communications Specialist 
publicaffairs@sonoma-county.org
(707) 565-3040
575 Administration Drive, Suite 104A
Santa Rosa, CA 95403