Living Wage Ordinance

LWO Requirements

– Contract Requirements for LWO applicability

• Contract for Services with expenditures of $25,000 or more in a 12-month time period
• Contract term of at least 3 months

– Benefits to Covered Employee

• Wage Rates
  • $10.50 per hour with $2.00 per hour Health Benefits OR
  • $12.50 per hour without Health Benefits
• Paid Leave
  • Minimum 12 compensated days off per year (includes paid holidays)

– Covered Employee

• Minimum 4 hours per week on County funded contract
• Does not include
  • Student age 21
  • Anyone earning academic credits regardless of age
  • Volunteer

LWO Exemptions

– Excluded Services

• Contract subject to Federal or State Laws (e.g., Prevailing Wage Construction contracts)
• Contracts between County and Governmental entity
• Contracts between County and Financial/Banking institution
• Contract for professional services requiring specialized skill or licensure (e.g., Consultant, Lawyer, Doctor, Experts, etc.)
• Contract between County and Non-Profit Corporation (IRS Code Section 501(c)(3))

– Contractor Exemptions

• Small Employer: Employs less than 5 full-time persons for each working day in 20 or more days per year
• Collective Bargaining: Entity operating under a Collective Bargaining Agreement
• In-Home Support Service Workers (IHSS)
• Board and Care Services
• Printing/Copying Services

LWO Contract Sanctions

• Withholding of payments
• Contract Suspension or Termination
• Contractor required to pay employees underpaid amounts
• Barred from County business for up to three (3) years
• Any combination of the above

Annual LWO Rate Review

• Ordinance uses 2001 as base year
• Requires annual review and adjustment in proportion to increase in Consumer Price Index-W (Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers not seasonally adjusted for the U.S. city average)
  • Increase must equate to at least 50 cents
  • Increase automatic; Board of Supervisors review and approval required if County Executive Office reports that it will unduly burden the County Budget
• Rates effective following fiscal year on July 1
  • First 50 cent increase to LWO effective July 1, 2006 based on cumulative impact of CPI-W increases
• Notification of LWO effective rates
  • Awarding Authorities
  • Contractors subject to LWO

LWO Compliance Forms

Downloadable Vendor Compliance and Employee Complaint forms.

Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader

 LW-1 Determination Form 
 LW-2 Awarding Authority Request for Non-Coverage or Exemption 
 LW-3 Bidder/Contractor Application for Non-Coverage or Exemption 
 LW-4 Pro-rated Time off for Part-time Employees 
 LW-5a Declaration of Agreement to Comply 
 LW-5b Subcontractor Declaration of Agreement to Comply 
 LW-6 Employee Information Form 
 LW-7 Employee Complaint Form (English) 
 LW-7sp Employee Complaint Form (Spanish) 
 LW-8 Living Wage Notice (English) 
 LW-8sp Living Wage Notice (Spanish) 
 LW-9 Subcontractor Information 
 LW-10 Application for Small Employer Exemption 
 LW-10a Employee Worksheet for Small Employer Exemption 
 LW-11 Notice to Employee (paycheck insert) 
 POSTER: Living Wage Ordinance Rates 
 POSTER: Prohibition against Retaliation (English) 
 POSTER: Prohibition against Retaliation (Spanish) 

Contact Information

Telephone: (805) 654-3835
FAX: (805) 654-5106
Address: 800 South Victoria Ave., Ventura, CA 93009-1940
E-mail: alejandra.tellez@ventura.org