Currently, the Living Wage Ordinance requires that covered employers pay covered employees $12.38 per hour with qualifying health care benefits amounting to at least $1.61 per hour, or $13.98 per hour without qualifying health care benefits.
On November 14, 2017, Agenda Item No. 37, the Board considered a motion to direct the Office of the County Attorney to amend the Living Wage Ordinance to increase the living wage paid to covered employees, including the health benefit amount, and to amend the indexing of the living wage. The Board directed the County Attorney, in consultation with County staff, to provide recommendations regarding changes to the Living Wage Ordinance, including the financial consequences of the proposed changes. On August 14, 2018, Agenda Item No. 101, the Board directed the Office of the County Attorney to draft an Ordinance amending the Living Wage Ordinance to increase the hourly wage paid to covered employees, including the health benefit amount.
Some covered employees may find the health care benefits offered by an employer to be insufficient and prefer to opt out of provided health care benefits and instead receive the higher living wage amount. The Living Wage Ordinance currently permits an employer to offer the lower wage if an employee declines health care coverage and the employer provides written proof of the covered employee’s declination; in that instance, the employer keeps the differential.
The proposed amendment to the Living Wage Ordinance would allow covered employees who opt out of the offered health care benefits (with written proof of the declination) to receive the higher hourly amount (currently $13.98 per hour, inclusive of the additional $1.61 per hour amount).
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