13.99.090 Enforcement.
A. Where prompt compliance is not forthcoming, the City and the Department shall take any appropriate enforcement action to secure compliance, including but not limited to the following:
1. The City may issue an Administrative Citation pursuant to Chapter 1.28 of the Berkeley Municipal Code. The amount of this fine shall vary based on the provision of this Chapter being violated, as specified below:
(a) A fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) may be assessed for retaliation by an Employer against an Employee for exercising rights protected under this Chapter for each Employee retaliated against.
(b) A fine of five hundred dollars ($500.00) may be assessed for any of the following violations of this Chapter:
(i) Failure to post any notice, bulletin, or information required under Section 60 of this Chapter
(ii) Failure to provide notice of investigation to Employees
(iii) Failure to post notice of violation to public
(iv) Failure to maintain payroll records for four years
(v) Failure to allow the City access to payroll records
(vi) Failure to provide to an Employee any information required to be provided to an Employee under Section 60 of this Chapter.
(c) A fine equal to the total amount of appropriate remedies, pursuant to subsection E of this section. Any and all money collected in this way that is the rightful property of an Employee, such as back wages, interest, and civil penalty payments, shall be disbursed by the City in a prompt manner.
2. Alternatively, the City may pursue administrative remedies in accordance with the following procedures:
(a) Whenever the City determines that a violation of any provision of this Chapter is occurring or has occurred, the City may issue a written compliance order to the Employer responsible for the violation.
(b) A compliance order issued pursuant to this chapter shall contain the following information:
(i) The date and location of the violation;
(ii) A description of the violation;
(iii) The actions required to correct the violation;
(iv) The time period after which administrative penalties will begin to accrue if compliance with the order has not been achieved;
(v) Either a copy of this Chapter or an explanation of the consequences of noncompliance with this Chapter and a description of the hearing procedure and appeal process;
(vi) A warning that the compliance order shall become final unless a written request for hearing before the City is received within fourteen days of receipt of the compliance order.
(c) Following receipt of a timely request for a hearing, the City shall provide the Employer responsible for the violation with a hearing and, if necessary, a subsequent appeal to the City Council that affords the Employer due process. During the pendency of the hearing and any subsequent appellate process, the City will not enforce any aspect of the compliance order.
3. The City may initiate a civil action for injunctive relief and damages and civil penalties in a court of competent jurisdiction.
B. Any person aggrieved by a violation of this Chapter, any entity a member of which is aggrieved by a violation of this Chapter, or any other person or entity acting on behalf of the public as provided for under applicable state law, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the Employer or other person violating this Chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs and shall be entitled to such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any back wages unlawfully withheld, the payment of an additional sum as a civil penalty in the amount of $50 to each Employee or person whose rights under this Chapter were violated for each day that the violation occurred or continued, reinstatement in employment and/or injunctive relief. Provided, however, that any person or entity enforcing this Chapter on behalf of the public as provided for under applicable state law shall, upon prevailing, be entitled only to equitable, injunctive or restitutionary relief to Employees, and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.
C. This Section shall not be construed to limit an Employee’s right to bring legal action for a violation of any other laws concerning wages, hours, or other standards or rights nor shall exhaustion of remedies under this Chapter be a prerequisite to the assertion of any right.
D. Except where prohibited by state or federal law, City agencies or departments may revoke or suspend any registration certificates, permits or licenses held or requested by the Employer until such time as the violation is remedied. The City shall not renew any such license of an Employer with outstanding violations, as finally determined under this Chapter, until such time as the violation is remedied.
E. The remedies for violation of this Chapter include but are not limited to:
1. Reinstatement, the payment of back wages unlawfully withheld, and the payment of an additional sum as a civil penalty in the amount of $50 to each Employee or person whose rights under this Chapter were violated for each day or portion thereof that the violation occurred or continued, and fines imposed pursuant to other provisions of this Code or state law.
2. Interest on all due and unpaid wages at the rate of interest specified in subdivision (b) of Section 3289 of the California Civil Code, which shall accrue from the date that the wages were due and payable as provided in Part 1 (commencing with Section 200) of Division 2 of the California Labor Code, to the date the wages are paid in full.
3. Reimbursement of the City’s administrative costs of enforcement and reasonable attorney’s fees.
4. If a repeated violation of this Chapter has been finally determined, the City may require the Employer to pay an additional sum as a civil penalty in the amount of $50 to the City for each Employee or person whose rights under this Chapter were violated for each day or portion thereof that the violation occurred or continued, and fines imposed pursuant to other provisions of this Code or state law.
F. The remedies, penalties and procedures provided under this Chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies, penalties and procedures established by law which may be pursued to address violations of this Chapter. Actions taken pursuant to this Chapter shall not prejudice or adversely affect any other action, civil or criminal, that may be brought to abate a violation or to seek compensation for damages suffered. (Ord. 7505-NS § 1 (part), 2016: Ord. 7352-NS § 1 (part), 2014)