City of Santa Monica Recognized for Minimum Wage Work by Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors

March 12, 2019 6:56 PM

Photo caption: Santa Monica City Attorney Lane Dilg (center) with Supervisor Kuehl and Solis with the recognized community partners and the Wage Enforcement team of the Dept. of Consumer and Business Affairs.

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — At its meeting today, March 12, 2019, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors recognized City of Santa Monica, the Santa Monica City Attorney’s Office and the L.A. County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs for their commitment to minimum wage outreach and enforcement.  

City Attorney Lane Dilg attended the meeting to accept the scroll and shared, “In Santa Monica, we are committed to maintaining a diverse and inclusive community, and a business environment characterized by honest work and fair pay. We’re grateful to DCBA for their partnership, and we look forward to continued efforts to ensure that an honest day’s work in our City is always paid an honest and fair wage.

In 2016, Santa Monica contracted with DCBA to enforce our local Minimum Wage Ordinance. That partnership has resulted in the prosecutions of two hotel gift shops, a major hotel, and a janitorial company. Over the last year and a half, there has been extensive outreach to Santa Monica businesses.  

The recognition was arranged by Supervisor Sheila Kuehl and Supervisor Hilda Solis.  

L.A. County under the leadership of DCBA has gotten so good at minimum wage enforcement that other cities have asked us to help them. In my district, one of those cities is Santa Monica,” said Supervisor KuehlTo date, more than $43,000 in back wages has been collected for 75 employees. I want to commend DCBA's team for their outstanding work helping my district enforce the minimum wage ordinance and ensure that a hard day's work is rewarded with a fair day's pay. 

“Wage enforcement is an important issue for County residents, especially for people who work in industries prone to wage theft,” said Supervisor Solis, who also served as Secretary of Labor under President Obama. “As a result of the Board’s approval of my 2016 motion, in which the Board of Supervisors prioritized enforcement of wage violations, we have made a big impact. The implementation of the Wage Enforcement Program, which could not be possible without the partnership of the LA County Workplace Justice Collaborative and the City of Santa Monica, has resulted in over 6,000 inquiries. We have helped over 1,300 employees collect more than $200,000 in back wages. I look forward to continuing our partnerships in order to help workers earn their fair share and help businesses come into compliance.” 

For more information about minimum wage in Santa Monica, visit www.smgov.net/minimumwage.   

 

Media Contact

Constance Farrell
Communications & Public Information Manager
Constance.Farrell@santamonica.gov

Departments

City Attorney's Office