On January 1, the living wage rate in Marin County will rise, as will the compensation for residential care assistants.
The hourly living wage will increase from $18 to $18.70. For employees of the In-Home Supportive Services Public Authority of Marin, or IHSS, the hourly pay will increase from $19 to $19.50.
The living wage legislation, which was adopted in 2002, mandates that county contractors and subcontractors with annual sales of at least $25,000 pay their workers a minimum wage that is higher than the state minimum wage.
Additionally, it mandates that the county executive submit an annual report detailing any effects of the living wage and offer suggestions for any changes. Supervisors were informed on Tuesday by Assistant County Executive Dan Eilerman.
The 70-cent living wage increase suggested by the county executive’s office was approved by the supervisors. The Bay Area consumer price index increased by 3.8% between April 2023 and April 2024, which was reflected in the recommendation.
A few county employee classifications are also impacted by the living wage increase, in addition to contractors and subcontractors who work for the county. The jobs include seasonal assistant for parks and open spaces, event attendant, county services worker 1, and library assistant.
According to Eilerman, the hike to $18.70 per hour will raise county expenses by less than $50,000 annually.
For many years, the living wage rule has had a greater effect on IHSS providers, according to Eilerman.
The reason for this is that the county’s living wage rate used to be greater than the rate given to IHSS employees. Consequently, the pay rate of IHSS employees increased in tandem with the living wage rate. For instance, the county increased its living wage rate from $16.80 to $18 per hour a year ago. As a result, IHSS employees’ rate increased from $16.95 to $18.
However, because their union signed a new contract in June that raised the pay to $19 per hour, IHSS workers’ wages will not be impacted by the hike in Marin’s living wage this year.
However, the increase to $19.50 per hour was authorized by the Board of Supervisors. The state will bear the entire expense.
The financing for IHSS employees comes from a combination of federal, state, and local sources. 50% of the cost is covered by the federal government, 32.5 percent by the state, and 17.5 percent by the counties.
To keep IHSS wages $3 per hour over the state minimum wage, the state bears the expense. The state will pay the increase in wages in Marin since the state minimum wage is scheduled to increase from $16 to $16.50 in January.
The hourly compensation for Marin IHSS employees will increase by an additional 25 cents to $19.75 per hour in February as a result of the new contract. Since the state only contributes up to a 10% rise in wages and benefits over any three-year period, the county will be responsible for paying for that increase.
Advocates for higher wages were not satisfied with the salary increases.
According to Marin Association of Public Employees executive director Rollie Katz, a full-time worker making $18.70 an hour would earn less than $40,000 annually.
Katz stated that $40,000 annually is hardly a living wage, and I believe it’s critical that we keep that in mind.
Victoria Holdridge criticized county employees for failing to include San Francisco in a comparison of IHSS hourly rates in seven other counties in Northern California. By February 1, San Mateo County IHSS employees will earn the highest wages, $21.30 per hour. By then, Santa Barbara IHSS employees will be paid $18.67 per hour. San Francisco IHHS employees are paid $21.50 per hour.
Because Marin must compete with San Francisco for caretakers, Holdridge said it is critical to evaluate what San Francisco workers are paid.
Relevant ArticlesEconomy |23andMe, tech firms reveal hundreds of layoffs in the Bay AreaEconomy | Proposition 32: California’s minimum wage would have increased to a national average of $18 per hour, but voters reject the initiativeEconomy | Advance Auto Parts layoffs will eliminate more than 1,000 jobs in the state and more than 100 jobs in the Bay Area.Economy | Would the Pacific Northwest’s increased logging aid in reducing wildfires?Economy | California loses thousands of jobs in October, while the Bay Area gets a few.”Are we meeting the needs of people who qualify for IHSS caregivers, or is there still a waiting list of people needing care?” inquired Mary Ellen Jenkins, a member of the Marin Organizing Committee.
We receive about 100 requests for caregivers each month, and we have about 50 caregivers ready to serve clients each month, according to Dario Santiago, executive director of the IHSS Public Authority of Marin.
But according to Santiago, there has been an improvement in caregiver recruitment and retention. According to him, the organization recruited roughly nine caregivers in 2023, falling short of its target of ten each month. Up until October of this year, the authority hired roughly 19 caregivers every month.
Furthermore, according to Santiago, the organization has kept 77% of its caregivers this year as opposed to 57% the previous year.
The new IHSS contract allocated $6,500 in other incentives and $75,000 to pay incentive payments to caregivers who work through its register. In order to make up for the long trips, the contract also gives IHSS employees who serve residents in West Marin a $200 bonus.
However, recruiting caretakers to work in West Marin is still difficult, according to Santiago.
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