Santa Clara County Municipal Code Div. B36 Living Wage

The Board of Supervisors finds that the government of the County of Santa Clara has a significant effect upon the economy of the County as a whole. Therefore, the Board of Supervisors intends to use the purchasing power of the County in order to assure, to the extent possible, that employees of entities who do business with the County do not live in economic uncertainty.

The County is the principal provider of social and health services within the County, especially to individuals who are compelled by economic constraints to turn to others for those services. Employers' failure to pay a living wage to their employees may cause individuals to use County services more than necessary, thereby burdening the County's limited resources. To alleviate the strain on County services and to help promote within the County an acceptable living standard for County residents, the County is instituting the Living Wage Policy described in this Division and the Policies of the Board of Supervisors.

(Ord. No. NS-300.881, 1-13-15)

County policy is that employers with County service contracts, and subcontractors of those employers, must compensate their employees appropriately and comply with the County Living Wage Policy contained in the Policies of the Board of Supervisors. This Division is implemented by Board Policy 5.5.5.5., and has no effect without that policy. The Living Wage Policy provisions, as currently written and as modified from time to time, are intended to include components relating to fair compensation, earned sick leave, paid jury duty, fair workweek, worker retention, fair chance hiring, targeted hiring, local hiring, protection from retaliation, and labor peace.

(Ord. No. NS-300.881, 1-13-15)

If a County Contractor and/or Subcontractor, as defined within this Division, violates any provision of either this Division or the Living Wage Policy contained in the Policies of the Board of Supervisors, the County Board of Supervisors, or designee, may, at its sole discretion, take responsive actions including, but not limited to, the following:

(a) Suspend, modify, or terminate the Service Contract.

(b) Require the Contractor and/or Subcontractor to comply with an appropriate remediation plan developed by the County.

(c) Waive all or part of this Division or the Living Wage Policy.

(Ord. No. NS-300.881, 1-13-15)

This Division shall apply only to such Service Contracts as are defined in the Living Wage Policy of the Board of Supervisors and made after the effective date of this Division.

(Ord. No. NS-300.881, 1-13-15)

Whenever they appear in this Division and the Living Wage Policy, the following capitalized terms shall have the following meanings:

(a) Contractor means a person or entity that enters into a Service Contract with the County.

(b) County means the County of Santa Clara.

(c) Direct services are services for which the County directly contracts, and are expressly specified in the contract.

(d) Employee means an individual who is permanently or temporarily employed by a County Contractor or Subcontractor and is performing at least five hours of Direct Services per week doing work funded in whole or in part pursuant to a Service Contract. Only employees working within the boundaries of the County are "employees" for the purposes of this Division and the Living Wage Policy. "Employee" does not include an individual who:

(1) Provides volunteer services that are uncompensated except for reimbursement of expenses such as meals, parking, or transportation;

(2) Is classified as a student trainee or intern working through an approved state or academic course of study or program, or is working toward state licensure or a professional accreditation sanctioned by a public entity or a recognized licensure agency;

(3) Is providing services to earn academic credit or as part of a formal training program;

(4) Is employed by the County or is covered by a collective bargaining agreement that is negotiated and approved by the Board of Supervisors;

(5) Is disabled and is covered by a current sub-minimum wage certificate issued to the Contractor or Subcontractor by the United States Department of Labor, or would be covered by such a certificate but for the fact that the Contractor is paying a wage equal to or higher than the minimum wage.

(6) Provides services as an independent contractor, as defined by the Federal Internal Revenue Service.

(e) Wage means the employee's effective hourly wage. Note: Salaried/exempt employees have an effective hourly wage that is steady and not calculated based on the number of hours worked in a given week.

(f) Service Contract means a contract for "Services" entered into or to be entered into by the County with another person or entity that has a term of at least three months. Where the same person or entity has or will have multiple contracts with the County, only those contracts meeting the Service Contract definition are subject to this Division.

(g) Service means any professional, technical, or non-technical services provided under contract with the County and specified in the contract. "Service" does not include the provision of goods, products, information technology programs and systems, chattels, or real estate.

(h) Subcontractor means any person or entity, other than an employee, that enters into a contract with a County Contractor to provide Services specified in a Service Contract.

(i) Jury duty pay means reasonable paid time off in order to comply with a jury summons.

(j) Fair chance hiring means that a qualified applicant has a fair chance to share his/her qualifications for a job opportunity with the employer before being screened for criminal records, unless the job requirements make earlier screening necessary.

(k) Targeted hiring means that employers shall, where feasible, make entry-level job openings available to qualified targeted workers, such as CalWORKs clients, foster youth, veterans or other disadvantaged jobseekers.

(l) Local hiring means that employers shall be encouraged and supported to hire residents of Santa Clara County or adjoining counties.

(m) Worker retention means that qualified employees who provide a service on the County's behalf are not unnecessarily subjected to job loss because the County Service Contract ends.

(n) Fair workweek means that employees have some basic protection from unpredictability in their work schedule (except where the inherent nature of the job prohibits a predictable schedule) and involuntary part-time or inconsistent work.

(o) Earned sick leave means that employees are able to earn a reasonable amount of paid time off to be used if they are sick, or needed to care for a sick family member or designated person.

(p) Fair compensation means that employees earn a wage that gives them an opportunity to afford basic necessities; such as food, health care, and shelter, in the short-term and the long-term.

(q) Protection from retaliation means that contractors shall not discriminate or retaliate against workers who request their rights under the Living Wage Policy.

(r) Labor peace means workers shall be allowed to freely exercise their rights to individually or collectively speak out about their working conditions without fear of intimidation, harassment, or retaliation by their employer.

(Ord. No. NS-300.881, 1-13-15)

Parties subject to this Living Wage Ordinance and the Living Wage Policy may by collective bargaining agreement provide that such agreement shall supersede the requirements of this Division and the Living Wage Policy.

The Board of Supervisors, at its sole discretion, or that of its designee, may grant an exemption from some or all of this Division and from some or all of the Living Wage Policy upon request for such exemption by the Contractor or from an officer of the County. The exemption may be granted after a finding is made that (a) compliance with parts of this Division or the Living Wage Policy will cause undue economic hardship on one of the parties to the contract or their employees, or (b) the exemption is necessary to promote the best interests of the County, or (c) a sole source or single source contract is appropriate and needed and cannot be secured if the Living Wage Policy is applied. For all exemption requests, the exemption applicant must provide a written statement that includes complete details in support of the request for exemption and describes alternative solutions pursued. Exemptions will apply only to the contract for which they are granted.

(Ord. No. NS-300.881, 1-13-15)

This Division shall not be construed to limit an employee's rights to bring any legal action for violation of the employee's rights under this Division or any other applicable law. An employee may bring an action against a Contractor or Subcontractor in the courts of the state of California for damages caused by an employer's violation of this Division. This Division does not authorize an award of costs, expenses or attorney's fees against the County. Neither this Division nor the Living Wage Policy confers any rights upon any person or entity other than the Board of Supervisors or their designee to bring any action seeking the cancellation or suspension of a County contract.

(Ord. No. NS-300.881, 1-13-15)

The provisions of this Division are severable. If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this Division is for any reason held unconstitutional or invalid, the remaining parts of this Division shall remain fully effective. If the application of any part of this Division to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the application of that part of this Division shall not be affected regarding other persons or circumstances.

(Ord. No. NS-300.881, 1-13-15)

As a condition of an applicable Service Contract, and as part of the consideration for said contract, each Contractor shall certify current, and warrant future, compliance with this Division and the Living Wage Policy.

(Ord. No. NS-300.881, 1-13-15)