City Council Introduces Ordinance Giving City Attorney Power to Sue Employers Over Wage Theft

The San Diego City Council introduced an ordinance Tuesday that would give the City Attorney new power to file civil lawsuits against employers for unpaid wages, overtime, and other wage theft violations — authority the city does not currently hold.

The proposed amendments to the Earned Sick Leave and Minimum Wage Ordinance, sponsored by Councilmembers Marni von Wilpert (District 5) and Sean Elo-Rivera (District 9), were scheduled as Item S502 at the Council's 2 p.m. session. The introduction is a first reading; a final vote would follow at a subsequent meeting.

"Wage theft is a widespread and underreported form of economic harm affecting workers across San Diego, often occurring at a scale that rivals other forms of theft," according to a city staff document accompanying the item. The ordinance would amend six sections of the municipal code to authorize civil enforcement actions to recover wages, overtime, and benefits workers have legally earned.

The proposal also makes technical and conforming amendments to align San Diego's earned sick leave provisions with existing California state law.

The push comes as San Diego's minimum wage is set to rise from $17.75 to $18.35 per hour on Jan. 1, 2027. Von Wilpert and Elo-Rivera argued the increase will matter only if workers actually receive the wages they are owed.

In July, the U.S. Department of Labor recovered more than $500,000 in back wages for six workers at a San Diego deli whose employees regularly worked 11-hour days and averaged 55 hours per week while being paid a flat rate of $100 per day, according to a city document. Each worker received approximately $83,000.

The ordinance introduction is the first step in a process that would let San Diego join cities including New York — which announced a $131.5 million enforcement action against DoorDash in September — in bringing municipal civil actions for wage violations.

Wage theft can include denial of meal and rest breaks, failure to pay overtime, misappropriation of tips, requiring off-the-clock work, failure to provide earned sick leave, unlawful paycheck deductions, and failure to reimburse business expenses.

The Council took no final vote Tuesday; the ordinance now proceeds through the legislative process.