What Is the Minimum Wage in San Bernardino County?

The minimum wage in San Bernardino County is $16.90 per hour as of January 1, 2026, matching the California statewide rate.¹ No city or unincorporated area in the county has adopted a higher local ordinance, so the same floor applies whether you work in Ontario, Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga, Victorville, or anywhere else in the county. Fast food and healthcare workers earn more under industry-specific rules.

The General Rate and How It Changes

Every employer in San Bernardino County owes $16.90 per hour, regardless of company size. California used to let small businesses with 25 or fewer employees pay a lower rate, but that two-tier system was phased out.²

The rate now adjusts automatically each January 1 based on the national Consumer Press Index for urban wage earners. Annual increases are capped at 3.5 percent, and the wage never drops even if inflation goes negative.² Expect small, predictable bumps each year.

Fast Food Workers Earn $20.00 Per Hour

If you work at a fast food chain, your minimum wage is $20.00 per hour, in effect since April 1, 2024. The rule covers limited-service restaurants that belong to a chain with at least 60 locations nationwide and that primarily sell food and beverages for immediate consumption.³ Major national burger, pizza, chicken, and coffee chains fall squarely within it. Table-service restaurants do not.

A Fast Food Council created by the same law can raise the rate further in future years. If you’re in the industry, check the Department of Industrial Relations site each year for updates.

Healthcare Worker Rates

Healthcare workers earn above the general minimum under a multi-year schedule that depends on the type of facility. Rates change mid-year, so your pay depends on both where you work and when you look. For 2026:⁴

Large health systems (10,000 or more full-time equivalent employees) and dialysis clinics: $24.00 per hour through June 30, 2026, then $25.00 on July 1, 2026.
Community clinics, rural health clinics, and urgent care clinics: $21.00 per hour through June 30, 2026, then $22.00 on July 1, 2026.
Other covered healthcare facilities: $21.00 per hour through June 30, 2026, then $23.00 on July 1, 2026.
Safety net hospitals and certain rural facilities: $18.63 per hour through June 30, 2026, then $19.28 on July 1, 2026.

Every category eventually reaches $25.00 per hour, though timelines differ. Large systems and dialysis clinics arrive there first in mid-2026; rural and safety net hospitals won’t get there until 2033. Coverage extends well beyond nurses and doctors. Janitors, technicians, and food service workers in covered facilities are included.⁴

Tipped Workers Get the Full Rate

California does not allow tip credits. If you’re a server, bartender, or valet in San Bernardino County, your employer owes you the full $16.90 per hour before tips. Tips are yours on top of that. This is one of the biggest practical differences between California and many other states, and it’s where wage theft complaints show up most often in restaurants.

Who Is Exempt From Minimum Wage

California exempts certain salaried employees in executive, administrative, and professional roles from both minimum wage and overtime. To qualify, an employee must earn at least twice the state minimum wage for full-time work, which works out to $70,304 per year as of 2026.⁵ Salary alone isn’t enough. The actual job duties must involve managing employees, exercising independent judgment on significant business matters, or performing work that requires advanced specialized knowledge.⁶ Job titles don’t control. If your employer calls you a “manager” but your day looks the same as hourly staff, you’re likely owed minimum wage and overtime.

What You Can Do If You’re Underpaid

Workers who recover unpaid wages can also collect liquidated damages equal to the full amount they were shorted, effectively doubling the recovery. An employer avoids liquidated damages only by proving to a court or the Labor Commissioner that the underpayment was a good-faith mistake with reasonable grounds for believing the pay was lawful.⁷ “I didn’t know the rate went up” rarely clears that bar.

On top of that, the state assesses civil penalties: $100 per underpaid employee per pay period for a first intentional violation, and $250 per employee per pay period for repeat offenses regardless of intent.⁸

The main way to collect is to file a wage claim with the California Labor Commissioner’s Office. You have three years from the date of each underpayment to file.⁹ Each pay period runs on its own clock, so waiting costs you money as the oldest periods drop off. The form is DLSE Form 1, the Initial Report or Claim, available on the Labor Commissioner’s website.¹⁰ Before you file, pull together your pay stubs, time records, direct deposit records, and any personal notes about hours worked. The stronger your documentation, the harder it is for the employer to dispute your numbers.

Most cases go first to a settlement conference with a deputy commissioner. If that fails, the case moves to a Berman hearing where both sides testify under oath and the officer issues a written decision within 15 days.¹¹ An employer who wants to appeal must first post a bond for the full amount of the decision, which discourages delay tactics.

Your Employer Cannot Retaliate

Filing a wage claim, complaining to a manager, or cooperating with a Labor Commissioner investigation is protected activity. Your employer cannot fire you, demote you, cut your hours, or take any other negative action because you raised a wage concern.¹²

If retaliation happens within 90 days of your protected activity, the law presumes it was because of the complaint, and the burden shifts to the employer to prove otherwise. Workers who prove retaliation can recover lost wages, get their job back, and collect a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation. Willful refusal to reinstate a worker after a retaliation finding is a misdemeanor.¹²

1
Department of Industrial Relations. Minimum Wage
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California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 1182.12
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Department of Industrial Relations. Fast Food Minimum Wage Frequently Asked Questions
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Department of Industrial Relations. Health Care Worker Minimum Wage Frequently Asked Questions
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Department of Industrial Relations. California’s Minimum Wage Set to Increase to $16.90 Per Hour
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U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 17A – Exemption for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Computer and Outside Sales Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act
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California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 1194.2
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California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 1197.1
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Department of Industrial Relations. Recover Your Unpaid Wages With the California Labor Commissioner’s Office
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Department of Industrial Relations. Initial Report or Claim Form
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Department of Industrial Relations. Policies and Procedures for Wage Claim Processing
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California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code LAB 98.6