Wage Hour Lawyer in San Francisco

If you experienced wage theft at a San Francisco workplace, you have strong protections under California law. We represent employees only, never employers, and offer a free, confidential consultation. 1-800-371-3088.

What Are Wage and Hour Claims in San Francisco

San Francisco workers are entitled to the highest of: federal minimum wage ($7.25/hour), California state minimum wage ($16.90/hour effective January 1, 2026 under California Labor Code section 1182.12), or the San Francisco Minimum Wage Ordinance rate of $19.18/hour as of July 1, 2025 (rising to $19.61/hour on July 1, 2026) for any work performed inside the City and County of San Francisco. Healthcare workers at covered facilities (including UCSF, CPMC, Kaiser SF, Dignity Health Saint Francis and St. Mary's, and ZSFG) earn tiered rates under SB 525 (California Labor Code sections 1182.14, 1182.15, 1182.16) reaching $25/hour at large hospital systems on July 1, 2026. Employees of City contractors and tenants of City property earn the SF Minimum Compensation Ordinance (MCO) rate of $22.01/hour (for-profit) effective July 1, 2026.

San Francisco Industries Where Wage and Hour Violations Are Most Common

• Hospitality workers - at Hilton Union Square, Marriott Marquis, Hyatt Regency Embarcadero, Fairmont, Westin St. Francis, Four Seasons, and Ritz-Carlton. Common claims: off-the-clock work, missed meal/rest breaks, tip-pooling disputes (Labor Code section 351; SB 648 effective January 1, 2026), HCSO healthcare-expenditure shortfalls.
• Healthcare workers - at UCSF, CPMC/Sutter, Kaiser SF, Dignity Health Saint Francis and St. Mary's, Chinese Hospital, and ZSFG. SB 525 minimum-wage shortfalls and missed meal/rest breaks during high-acuity shifts.
• Formula-retail workers - at Starbucks, Target, CVS, Whole Foods, Walgreens, Gap, Old Navy, Macy's, and other chains with 20+ SF employees and 40+ retail locations worldwide. SF Formula Retail Employee Rights Ordinances (SF Police Code Articles 33F, 33G) require 14-day advance schedules, 1-4 hours of premium pay if a shift changes inside 7 days, and offers of additional hours to existing part-time workers before hiring new staff.
• Tech workers - at Salesforce, Uber, Lyft, OpenAI, X/Twitter, Airbnb, Block, Pinterest, Reddit, Stripe, and LinkedIn. Common claims: exempt-misclassification (the 2026 exempt-salary floor is $70,304/year), unpaid overtime for non-exempt engineers, and stock-vesting / equity disputes.
• Restaurant and fast-food workers - across SF. Fast-food chains with 60+ national locations are subject to the $20/hour AB 1228 floor (California Labor Code section 1474).
• Public-sector workers and City contractors - subject to the SF MCO ($22.01/hour for-profit; higher for non-profits) and the 6-month Government Claims Act deadline (Cal. Government Code section 911.2).

San Francisco City Protections

SF has city-specific wage protections beyond California state law. The SF Minimum Wage Ordinance (SF Police Code Article 12R) sets $19.18/hour as of July 1, 2025, rising to $19.61/hour on July 1, 2026. The SF Minimum Compensation Ordinance (MCO) (SF Administrative Code Chapter 12P) sets $22.01/hour for-profit (effective July 1, 2026) for employees of City contractors and tenants of City property. The SF Paid Sick Leave Ordinance (PSLO) (SF Administrative Code Chapter 12W) requires accrual of 1 hour per 30 hours worked, capped at 40 hours (small employers, <10 employees) or 72 hours (10+ employees). The SF Health Care Security Ordinance (HCSO) (SF Administrative Code Chapter 14) requires employers with 20+ workers (50+ for non-profits) to make healthcare expenditures of $4.11/hour (100+ employees) or $2.74/hour (smaller covered employers) in 2026. The SF Formula Retail Predictable Scheduling Ordinances (SF Police Code Articles 33F, 33G) require 14-day advance schedules and premium pay for late changes at covered chains.

California Law

For the full California wage-and-hour framework, including overtime (Labor Code section 510), meal and rest breaks (sections 512 and 226.7), wage statements (section 226), waiting-time penalties (section 203), expense reimbursement (section 2802), and PAGA (sections 2698 et seq.), see our California employment law page.

What Compensation Can You Recover

Unpaid wages, overtime, missed meal/rest premiums (one hour of pay per missed break), wage-statement penalties (up to $4,000 per employee under Labor Code section 226(e)), waiting-time penalties (up to 30 days of pay under Labor Code section 203), interest, liquidated damages on minimum-wage shortfalls, and attorneys' fees and costs (Labor Code section 1194). For details, see our California employment law page.

How to File a Wage Claim in San Francisco

Wage claims can be filed with the California Labor Commissioner (DLSE), San Francisco, 455 Golden Gate Avenue, 9th Floor, Suite 9628, San Francisco, CA 94102-7002, phone (415) 703-5300. SF ordinance violations (Minimum Wage, MCO, HCSO, Predictable Scheduling, PSLO, Lactation) go to the SF Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE), City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 430. Civil suits are heard at the Civic Center Courthouse, 400 McAllister Street, San Francisco, CA 94102 (Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco). Call us at 1-800-371-3088 before any deadline.