City Council Meeting: October 27, 2026 Santa Monica, California ORDINANCE NUMBER ___ (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA ADDING SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE CHAPTER 4.70 TO ALLOW EMPLOYEES WHO
PERFORM WORK IN THE CITY TO DESIGNATE A REPRESENTATIVE TO RECEIVE
A FINAL PAYCHECK
WHEREAS, Santa Monica is home to many residents and workers whose labor contributes directly to the local economy and whose wages support the workers and their families; and
WHEREAS, under California law, an employee’s final paycheck must be provided to an employee within 72 hours after separation by the employee, and an employee who quits with advance notice can direct that the final paycheck be sent by mail; and WHEREAS, under California law, an employee who quits or otherwise becomes unavailable to work without providing advance notice, including by unintentionally abandoning their employment because they have become unavailable due to arrest, detention, or other unanticipated emergency, often cannot communicate with their employer to receive their final paycheck themselves, designate a person to receive the final paycheck, or direct a final paycheck to be mailed; and WHEREAS, families of Santa Monica workers detained during an immigration enforcement action have reported difficulty in receiving the employee’s final paycheck when the employee was unable to receive the final paycheck personally; and WHEREAS, allowing workers to designate, in advance, a person to receive their final paycheck and be notified if a final paycheck is available makes it easier for employers to get final paychecks to employees who may not be able to retrieve them personally; and WHEREAS, ensuring that Santa Monica workers promptly receive all wages due when they are unexpectedly separated from employment supports employees’ ability to obtain vital services the employee and their family may need while the family member remains unable to work, such as food, housing, transportation, legal services, and dependent care services; and
WHEREAS, it is the intent of the City Council in adopting this ordinance to provide employees the opportunity to designate a person to receive their final paycheck in advance of the employee becoming unavailable to work, in addition to any other right of employees may have to direct release of a final paycheck to any person;
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 4.70 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code is hereby added to read as follows:
4.70.010 Definitions.
(a) “City” means the City of Santa Monica.
(b) “Designated person” means a person designated by an employee on a designation form to receive the employee’s final paycheck. Where an employee has provided multiple completed designation forms to an employer, “designated person” means the person designated in the most recent designation form provided by the employee.
(c) “Employee” means any person who in a particular week performs at least two hours of work within the geographic boundaries of the City for an employer; and qualifies as an employee entitled to payment of a minimum wage from any employer under the California Labor Code and wage orders published by the California Industrial Welfare Commission.
(d) “Employer” means any person, including a corporate officer or executive, association, organization, partnership, business trust, and limited liability company or corporation, who directly or indirectly, or through an agent or any other person, including through the services of a temporary service or staffing agency or similar entity, employs or exercises control over the wages, hours or working conditions of any employee. (e) “Final paycheck” means an instrument of payment of an employee’s wages due at the time of quitting or within 72 hours of quitting pursuant to Section 202(a) of the California Labor Code.
(f) “Final paycheck designation form” means a written form by which an employee designates a person to receive the employee’s final paycheck from an employer.
4.70.030 Release of final paycheck.
(a) An employer shall provide the employee’s final paycheck to the employee’s designated person upon request of the designated person or the employee. (b) If neither an employee nor the employee’s designated person has received the employee’s final paycheck within 15 days after the final paycheck is due, the employer shall send written notice to both the employee and the designated person stating that the employee’s final paycheck is available for receipt, that the employee has authorized the designated person, who shall be named in the notice, to receive the employee’s final paycheck, that the employee or designated person may receive the final paycheck from the employer unless the employer first receives notice from the employee that the employee wishes to rescind the employee’s final paycheck designation form, the address where the final paycheck may be received in person, and a phone number where the employer may be reached.
(c) The notice required by subsection (b) shall be sent to the employee by mail to the employee’s last known address and to the employee’s email address stated on the final paycheck designation form, if any. The notice required by subsection (b) shall simultaneously be sent to the employee’s designated person to the designated person’s mailing address and email address, if any, stated on the final paycheck designation form. (d) The notice required by subsection (b) shall be mailed, and if required, emailed, to the employee and employee’s designated person no less than 15 days and no more than 30 days after the employee’s final paycheck is due. (e) If an employer provides an employee’s final paycheck to the employee’s designated person, the employer shall make reasonable efforts to notify the employee that the employer has done so.
(f) Nothing in this Chapter prohibits an employer from providing an employee’s final paycheck to the employee or any other person to whom the employer is permitted to provide the final paycheck..
4.70.020 Final paycheck designation form requirements.
(a) An employer shall provide an employee the opportunity to designate a person authorized to receive the employee’s final paycheck by providing the employee a final paycheck designation form no later than July 1, 2027 for an existing employee, and at the time of hire for an employee hired on or after July 1, 2027. An employer shall provide an employee the opportunity to update any previously completed final paycheck designation form or to complete a final paycheck designation form if the employee has not previously done so, at any time upon request by the employee, and by providing the employee a blank copy of a final paycheck designation form at least once per calendar year. (b) The final paycheck designation form referred to in subsection (a) shall include fields for the employee’s name, employee’s address, employee’s phone number, employee’s email address (optional), designated person’s name, designated person’s address, designated person’s phone number, designated person’s email address (optional), employee signature indicating authorization to the employer to release the final paycheck to the designated person, and date of signature. The final paycheck designation form referred to in subsection (a) shall also disclose that an employee’s designated person shall be authorized to receive the employee’s final paycheck upon request, that an employee may modify or revoke the designation at any time, and that an employer may not retaliate against an employee for completing or declining to complete the designation form.
(c) The City shall make available on the City’s website a template final paycheck designation form.
(d) The final paycheck designation form referred to in subsection (a) shall be provided in the language the employer normally uses to communicate employment-related information to the employee and which the employee understands if the template form is available in that language on the City’s website. If the template form is not available in that language, then the final paycheck designation form may be provided in English.
(e) An employer may combine a designation form with any other form the employer provides to the employee, including a form to designate an emergency contact, so long as the form provided contains the fields and information required by subsection (b). (f) No employee shall be required to complete a final paycheck designation form.
4.70.040 Exemption for government agencies.
The requirements of this Chapter shall not apply to employers that are government agencies, including federal agencies, state agencies, cities, counties, school districts, and all other public entities.
4.70.050 Supersession by collective bargaining agreement.
The provisions of this Chapter, or any part thereof, may be waived in a bona fide collective bargaining agreement, but only if the waiver is explicitly set forth in such agreement in clear and unambiguous terms. Unilateral implementation of terms and conditions of employment by either party to a collective bargaining relationship shall not constitute or be permitted as a waiver of all or any part of the provisions of this Chapter.
4.70.060 Retaliatory action prohibited.
(a) It shall be unlawful for an Employer to reduce the hours, wages or benefits of; demote; suspend; discharge; or otherwise discriminate or take adverse action against any person for exercising rights protected under this Chapter. (b) Taking adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercising rights protected under this Chapter shall raise a rebuttable presumption that the adverse action was taken in retaliation for the exercise of such rights.
4.70.070 Administrative Regulations.
The City Manager or designee may adopt administrative regulations that are consistent with the provisions of this Chapter. Violations of the administrative regulations adopted pursuant to this section shall constitute violations of this Chapter, and shall subject the violator to the penalties set forth in this Chapter.
4.70.080 Enforcement.
(a) To monitor and investigate compliance with the requirements of this Chapter, every employer shall cooperate with City-authorized investigators, including, but not limited to: accessing records, and allowing investigators to interview persons, including employees, during normal business hours.
(b) The City may issue and serve administrative subpoenas as necessary to obtain specific information regarding compliance with this Chapter. Any subpoena issued pursuant to this Section shall not require the production of information sooner than thirty days from the date of service. A person that has been served with an administrative subpoena may seek judicial review during that thirty-day period. (c) Unless otherwise specifically provided, any person violating any provision of this Chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, which shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars but not less than one hundred fifty dollars per violation, or imprisonment in the County Jail for a period not exceeding six months, or by both fine and imprisonment, or shall be guilty of an infraction, which shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding two hundred fifty dollars but not less than one hundred dollars per violation.
Each such person shall be guilty of a separate offense for each and every day during any portion of which any violation of any provision of this Chapter is committed, continued, or permitted by such person and shall be punishable accordingly. (d) Any person violating any provision of this Chapter or any rule or regulation may be subject to administrative citation pursuant to Chapter 1.09 of this Code. (e) The City may enforce the provisions of this Chapter by means of a civil action, and upon prevailing, shall be entitled to injunctive relief, a penalty in the amount of five hundred dollars per violation, and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs. (f) Any person convicted of violating any provision of this Chapter shall be required to reimburse the law enforcement agency that investigated the violation its full investigative costs.
(g) Violation of any provision of this Chapter, with the exception of Sections
4.70.060, shall be considered a strict liability offense; accordingly, the prosecution shall not be required to prove any intent or other mental state. (h) Prosecution for any violation of this Chapter, including the issuance of any administrative citation or order, shall be commenced within one year after discovery of the commission of the offense by law enforcement authorities or by the victims of the offense.
SECTION 2. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendices thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to effect the provisions of this Ordinance.
SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 4. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become effective 30 days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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HEIDI VON TONGELN
City Attorney