Oakland Minimum Wage 2026: Sick Leave & Hotel Worker Rights

The Oakland minimum wage is $17.34 an hour for 2026, effective January 1, 2026, and it covers employees who work at least two hours in a week inside the city, at businesses of any size. Hotel workers at larger Oakland hotels are owed more: $18.85 an hour with health benefits or $25.14 without them.

Oakland’s local law, passed by voters as Measure FF in 2014 and expanded for hotel workers by Measure Z (effective July 1, 2019), also gives workers their own paid sick leave rules, protects hospitality service charges, and sets safety and workload rules for hotel housekeepers. This guide explains each one, what changes when the state minimum rises on January 1, 2027, and how to report a violation. For other cities, see our California minimum wage by city table.

Oakland minimum wage 2026

Under Oakland Municipal Code Chapter 5.92, employers must pay at least the city minimum wage for every hour worked within Oakland’s boundaries. The rate adjusts each January 1 based on the prior year’s increase in the Consumer Price Index for the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose area.

Who	Hourly minimum	Effective
Most employees working in Oakland	$17.34	January 1, 2026
Hotel employees (hotels with 50+ rooms), with health benefits	$18.85	January 1, 2026
Hotel employees (hotels with 50+ rooms), without health benefits	$25.14	January 1, 2026
California state minimum	$16.90	January 1, 2026
California state minimum, next year	$17.40	January 1, 2027

The law applies to employees who work two or more hours in a week in Oakland, and there is no separate small-business rate. California does not allow tip credits, so tipped workers must receive the full minimum before tips.

What happens on January 1, 2027? California’s minimum rises to $17.40 an hour, which is higher than Oakland’s current $17.34. Oakland’s own 2027 rate will be set by its inflation formula, and the City had not published it as of early October 2026. Either way, from January 1, 2027 most Oakland workers must be paid at least $17.40, and if Oakland’s new rate is higher, the higher city rate applies.

By the numbers$17.34

Oakland hotel workers: Measure Z

Measure Z (Oakland Municipal Code Chapter 5.93) covers hotels with 50 or more guest rooms, including contracted, leased or sublet businesses operated in connection with the hotel. It protects hotel employees, whether employed by the hotel or by a contractor working at the hotel, who are hired to work or do work an average of five hours a week over four weeks. Its key protections:

• Hotel minimum wage: $18.85 an hour with health benefits or $25.14 without, for 2026, adjusted each January 1. Tips, service charge distributions and bonuses do not count toward it.
• Panic buttons: any employee assigned to work alone in a guest room or bathroom must be given a panic button at no cost. You may stop work and leave a threatening situation, and you cannot be disciplined for using the button absent clear and convincing evidence of a knowingly false claim.
• Reassignment: if you report violent or threatening behavior by a guest and reasonably believe your safety is at risk, you can ask to be reassigned to a different floor or work area.
• Workload limits: a room cleaner cannot be required to clean more than 4,000 square feet of floor space in an eight-hour day unless paid double the regular rate for all hours worked that day.
• Hours: hotel employers cannot require work beyond 10 hours in a day without the worker’s informed consent, except in emergencies.

💡 Example (hypothetical): Rosa cleans rooms at a 120-room Oakland hotel that does not provide health benefits, and she is paid $20.00 an hour. Her 2026 minimum is $25.14, so she is short $5.14 an hour. For a 40-hour week, that is $205.60 a week, or $2,056.00 over 10 weeks, before penalties and interest.

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Service charges in Oakland restaurants and hotels

Measure FF also covers service charges. If a hotel, restaurant or banquet facility in Oakland adds a separately listed charge for service, such as a “service charge,” “delivery charge” or “porterage charge,” or a fee customers would reasonably believe goes to the staff, that money must be paid to the hospitality workers who performed the service (Oakland Municipal Code 5.92.040). An employer cannot keep it as revenue.

Industry wages that can be higher

• Fast food: $20.00 an hour statewide at limited-service restaurants that belong to a national chain with more than 60 establishments nationally (Labor Code 1474 et seq.).
• Health care: covered health care facility workers have their own state minimum wage schedule under SB 525, from $19.28 up to $25.00 an hour depending on the type of facility. See our health care minimum wage guide.

When several rates apply, you are owed the highest one.

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Oakland paid sick leave

Oakland’s sick leave rules (Oakland Municipal Code 5.92.030) work alongside California’s paid sick leave law:

Rule	Oakland	California (Labor Code 246)
Accrual	1 hour per 30 hours worked	1 hour per 30 hours, or at least 40 hours/5 days by the 200th day
When you can use it	After 90 calendar days of employment	Beginning on the 90th day of employment
Accrual cap, employers with fewer than 10 workers	40 hours	Employer may cap at 80 hours/10 days
Accrual cap, other employers	72 hours	Employer may cap at 80 hours/10 days
Who you can care for	Child, parent, legal guardian or ward, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, spouse or registered domestic partner, or a designated person	Family members as defined in Labor Code 245.5, plus a designated person

Unused leave carries over from year to year up to the cap. If you have no spouse or registered domestic partner, you can name one person you may use sick leave to care for. A paid time off policy that provides at least as much leave for the same purposes can satisfy the requirement, and unused sick leave does not have to be paid out when you leave. Where state law is more generous, such as its 80-hour accrual cap, it applies. Our California paid sick leave guide covers the state rules in detail.

By the numbers$25.14

Retaliation, records and right to recall

Oakland’s ordinance gives workers strong protection against retaliation. An employer may not fire, cut the pay of, or otherwise discriminate against anyone for complaining to the City, using its remedies, or asserting rights under the law. If an employer fires a worker within 120 days of learning of that activity, the firing is unlawful unless the employer has clear and convincing evidence of just cause. Asking a worker to waive these rights is itself a violation.

Employers must keep records of hours, pay rates, sick leave and service charges for at least three years and give you a copy of your records on reasonable request. If they do not keep adequate records, the law presumes they paid no more than the state or federal minimum. You can also request your records under state law; see our guide to requesting your personnel file and payroll records.

Oakland also has a Hospitality and Travel Worker Right to Recall Ordinance (Chapter 5.95) for hotels, event centers and related employers, but it applies only to workers employed at least six of the twelve months before January 31, 2020 who were laid off after that date for economic reasons, so it rarely reaches today’s layoffs.

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How to report a violation in Oakland

The City of Oakland Department of Workplace and Employment Standards enforces the minimum wage, sick leave, service charge and hotel worker laws:

• Phone: 510-238-6258
• Email: minwageinfo@oaklandca.gov
• Office: 250 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Suite 3341, Oakland, CA 94612

When it finds a violation, the City can order back pay with interest, take further action to secure compliance including a civil action, and require the employer to pay the City up to $50 per day for each affected employee to cover enforcement costs. For state wage claims, you can file with the California Labor Commissioner (DLSE); claims for unpaid wages generally must be brought within three years (Code of Civil Procedure 338). Discrimination and harassment complaints go to the Civil Rights Department, generally within three years. Our guide on the Labor Commissioner vs. hiring a lawyer compares the options.

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Worked example: a small shortfall that adds up

💡 Example (hypothetical): Jamal works 25 hours a week at an Oakland store and is paid the state minimum of $16.90. Oakland requires $17.34, so he is short $0.44 an hour, or $11.00 a week. Over 26 weeks, that is $286.00 in unpaid wages, plus interest and any penalties.

Check your own numbers with our wage and hour calculator. If you lost your job in a layoff, see our pages on Oakland layoffs and Alameda County layoffs.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the Oakland minimum wage in 2026?

$17.34 an hour, effective January 1, 2026, for employees who work at least two hours a week in Oakland. Hotel workers at hotels with 50 or more rooms are owed $18.85 with health benefits or $25.14 without.

Will Oakland’s minimum wage go up in 2027?

Oakland adjusts its rate every January 1 for inflation and had not announced the 2027 figure as of early October 2026. Because California’s minimum becomes $17.40 on January 1, 2027, most Oakland workers will be owed at least $17.40 from that date.

How much sick leave do Oakland workers get?

One hour for every 30 hours worked, usable after 90 days of employment. Employers with fewer than 10 workers may cap accrual at 40 hours and larger employers at 72 hours, but California’s 80-hour cap applies where it is more generous.

Does Measure Z apply to every Oakland hotel?

No. It applies to hotels with 50 or more guest rooms, including businesses operated in connection with them and contractors that provide services there.

Can my employer keep the service charge?

No. In Oakland hotels, restaurants and banquet facilities, service charges must go to the workers who performed the service.

If you were underpaid or denied sick leave in Oakland, our wage and hour attorneys can review your situation. We represent workers throughout California, including the East Bay; our nearest office is in Fresno.

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