San Diego is the latest city to pass a minimum wage hike by overriding Mayor Kevin Faulconer's veto to approve gradual wage increase and paid sick days, CNN Money reported. While advocates argue that a higher minimum wage and other benefits could help low-wage workers make ends meet and can lift some out of poverty, others claim it to be a job killer.
A week after the legislation was first approved by the city council, Faulconer vetoed the legislation on August 8. He said the new law puts "heavier burdens" on small businesses compared to neighboring cities and makes it hard for them to create jobs. But the San Diego City Council voted 6-2 on Monday in favor of overriding the veto.
The new legislation states that starting on January 1, 2015, the minimum wage will jump from $9 an hour to $9.75, and it will reach $11.50 by 2017. By 2019, the minimum wage rate will be tied to inflation.
In addition to raising the city's minimum wage above California's statewide floor starting next year, the measure would allow an estimated 279,000 workers five days of paid sick leave annually, Techsonia reported.
"When 38 percent of the people of this city do not earn enough to make ends meet, something must be done," City Council President Todd Gloria said on Monday at the meeting where he and his Democratic colleagues voted 6-2 to enact the wage hike over the mayor's veto.
The federal minimum wage is currently set at $7.25 an hour. However, several states, cities, and counties have already taken action to raise the minimum wage for workers. Last year, California lawmakers approved a raise to the state's minimum wage, which is being phased in over three years until it reaches $10 an hour.
"But the new San Diego law is not in the clear just yet. The San Diego Small Business Coalition plans to circulate a petition beginning Wednesday that would require a referendum vote to approve the wage hike before it takes effect, said the group's spokesman, Jason Roe," according to CNN Money. "To earn a spot on the ballot, the petition must have at least 33,866 signatures and be submitted to the city clerk within 30 days."
