Not only does Mountain View currently have the highest minimum wage rate in California, it also recently enacted the Mountain View Wage Theft Ordinance, which requires covered businesses to affirm that they have paid any past wage-and-hour judgments in full to employees, or that they haven’t violated any wage and hour laws and have no pending judgments. Adopted by the Mountain View City Council on September 13, 2022, the new ordinance went into effect on January 1, 2023.
Wage theft is the denial of wages or employee benefits that are rightfully owed to an employee pursuant to federal, state and local laws, including failure to pay overtime, minimum wage violations, unauthorized deductions in pay or not being paid at all.
The new Wage Theft ordinance applies to all business operators in the City of Mountain View required to have a business license, except for those with no employees.
Business operators who are subject to Mountain View’s business license requirements must, at the time they apply for a business license or business license renewal to the tax administrator, submit a sworn affidavit affirming under penalty of perjury that:
- They have not been found to be in violation of any federal, state or local wage and hour laws, including, but not limited to, the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, the California Labor Code and any local minimum wage, living wage or prevailing wage requirements by a court of law or any federal, state or local hearing officer, or other adjudicatory body; and
- They have complied with or have fully satisfied any final judgement, order or administrative decision issued against it for violation of applicable federal, state and local wage and hour laws, including, but not limited to, the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, the California Labor Code and any local minimum wage, living wage or prevailing wage requirements.
The failure to submit a wage theft affidavit or submitting a false affidavit may subject you to administrative citations, fines and penalties and may be punishable as a criminal infraction.
Sarah Woolston, Employment Law Counsel/Subject Matter Expert
CalChamber members can read more about the Mountain View Wage Theft Ordinance in the HR Library. Not a member? See how CalChamber can help you.
