Berkeley
Berkeley's minimum wage is $19.61 an hour, effective July 1, 2026, for employees who work at least two hours within the city's limits. That's above California's $16.90 state rate. Berkeley's paid sick leave accrues at 1 hour for every 30 worked, and the caps an employer may set depend on whether it has fewer than 25 employees or 25 or more.
Headcount matters in Berkeley, though not for the wage itself: the wage is one rate, and the sick leave caps are what split at 25 employees. This page covers the rate, what the city has published about July 2027, the sick leave tiers, and what they mean for your books. Payroll registration and the employee test are on the California page.
The city's Workforce Standards and Enforcement page lists $19.61 an hour effective July 1, 2026, up from $19.18 on July 1, 2025. It applies to all employees who work at least two hours within Berkeley's geographic limits. For July 1, 2027, the city's July 2026 notice, as I read its table, gives only "$19.61 + CPI-W," an adjustment tied to the CPI-W with no dollar figure announced as of October 21, 2026. Whether your crews are covered is a question for the city or an employment attorney.
Source: City of Berkeley, Workforce Standards and Enforcement (no page date shown)
California's state rate is $16.90 an hour and rises to $17.40 on January 1, 2027, according to the Department of Industrial Relations.
Source: California Department of Industrial Relations, Labor Commissioner, Minimum Wage FAQ
Source: California Department of Industrial Relations, News Release 2026-66 (August 13, 2026)
Under Berkeley's Paid Sick Leave Ordinance, BMC 13.100, employers must provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. The city's page says employers with fewer than 25 employees may cap accrual at 48 hours and use at 48 hours a year. Employers with 25 or more may cap accrual at 72 hours but may not cap how much paid sick leave an employee uses in a calendar year. This section is based on the city's page and notice, not the ordinance text, so confirm the details with the city.
Source: City of Berkeley, Workforce Standards and Enforcement (no page date shown)
The 25-employee line is the part I keep an eye on. Sick leave in a Berkeley company isn't just a line on a pay stub. It's an accrual figured hour by hour, it's a balance carried for each employee, and it's a permitted cap that moves once headcount reaches 25. I record wages at what each person is actually paid, keep sick leave balances by employee, and note headcount next to whatever cap you've set. Here's how I handle payroll for cleaning businesses.
I'm a bookkeeper, not a CPA or an Enrolled Agent. I keep wages and sick leave recorded; which tier applies, and how the city's rules reach your crews, are questions for the city or an employment attorney.
Rules checked against the sources above as of October 20, 2026. Rates and rules change; confirm current figures with the agency or your CPA.
About Figure Eight Financial
Figure Eight Financial is Dave Gordon’s bookkeeping practice for residential and commercial cleaning companies. I work with owners in Berkeley and across the country, and I’m a Certified QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor.
Before bookkeeping I studied computer science at Penn State and spent a career at IBM as an engineer, so I build the books as a system: data comes in once, lands in the right place, and ties back to a statement. I’m a bookkeeper, not a CPA or Enrolled Agent. I keep the books your CPA works from, and the tax decisions stay with your CPA.
Credentials and memberships reported by Figure Eight Financial.
More about DaveHow I Help
Berkeley splits its sick leave caps at 25 employees, and accrual runs at 1 hour for every 30 worked, so the balances are only as good as the hours behind them. Payroll is recorded at the wage actually paid, with sick leave tracked by employee against the cap you've set. Book a short call below and walk me through your Berkeley headcount.
The core service. Transactions recorded and categorized, every account reconciled so the books and the bank agree, and monthly reports that arrive explained, split by residential and commercial and sliceable per contract.
The full picture of how this works for a cleaning companyFor the months where nothing got entered at all. I fill in the missing periods from the ground up, pulling bank feeds, statements, and receipts until every month has a complete set of records.
How catch-up bookkeeping worksFor books that exist but can’t be trusted. I audit what’s there, fix the unreconciled accounts, duplicate transactions, and wrong categories, and tie every balance back to a statement.
How cleanup bookkeeping worksYour crews paid on time, every pay period, with each payroll run recorded in the books so labor shows up against the jobs it belongs to.
How payroll worksRecurring invoices that match your contracts, an aging report you can trust, and follow-up on slow payers handled by a process instead of your evenings. Built for net-60 commercial accounts.
How invoicing and receivables workA file built right for a cleaning company from day one, or rebuilt after the DIY version drifts, and then I teach you to run it. I’m a Certified QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor, and this is honestly my favorite part of the job.
How a proper setup worksWe start with a short call about your business and where the books stand. The first conversation doesn’t cost anything.
I take a look at what you’ve got, your QuickBooks file, your spreadsheet, whatever exists.
You get a written proposal with the price, so the decision is yours with the number in hand.
Let's Connect
Getting close to 25 employees in Berkeley and not sure which sick leave cap your books reflect? Tell me how you track it now. The first conversation doesn't cost anything.
