Payroll and HR Services in California

CoAd for California businesses. Built for the way you work.
From Los Angeles to Sacramento, California layers city and county rules on top of the strictest state labor code in the country. CoAd runs your payroll, keeps you compliant, and gives you a managed HR team that already knows the local rules.
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Get a payroll and HR quote for your California business.

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CoAd services for California businesses

Payroll and managed HR, built for California.
Pick the service you need today. Both run on CoAdQuantum, so you can start with payroll and add a managed HR team later without switching systems.
Payroll

Payroll that already knows California.

Run payroll in minutes with CoAdQuantum. State and local minimum wage tables, paid sick leave accruals, SDI and daily overtime rules are built in, and your federal, state and local taxes are calculated, filed and paid on time.

  • Automatic city and county minimum wage updates every January 1 and July 1
  • Paid sick leave accrual tracking for Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland and San Diego rules
  • Same-day direct deposit, pay history and employee self-service
  • Federal, state and local tax filing with year-end W-2s and 1099s
Explore payroll
CoAdQuantum overview (1:37)

Payroll rules by city

How California's ten largest cities differ from state payroll rules.
California sets the floor and cities raise it. Here is where minimum wage, paid sick leave and local registration rules change once you cross a city line, compared with the statewide default.
Local rule differs from the state default Defaults to California state
Payroll rule differences versus California state defaults in the ten largest California cities
City (county) Minimum wage Paid sick leave Local registration, taxes and county notes
Los AngelesLos Angeles County $18.42/hr citywide, effective July 1, 2026 (adjusts every July 1). Hotels with 60+ rooms and LAX workers: $25.00/hr plus a health benefit payment, rising to $30.00 on January 1, 2030. 48 hours per year, front loaded or accrued at 1 hour per 30 worked, with a 72-hour accrual cap (state minimum is 40 hours). City Business Tax Registration Certificate required; tax is measured on gross receipts, not payroll. LA County's $18.47 unincorporated rate does not apply inside city limits.
San DiegoSan Diego County $17.75/hr, effective January 1, 2026 (adjusts every January 1). From July 1, 2026: $19.00/hr at hotels with 150+ rooms and amusement parks, $21.06/hr at named event centers, stepping up to $25.00 by 2030. Amounts match the state (40 hours of use, 80-hour cap), but the city ordinance is separately enforced with its own hire-date notice and recordkeeping. Business Tax Certificate priced by headcount ($34 for up to 12 employees; $125 plus $5 per employee above that). County rules: defaults to California state.
San JoseSanta Clara County $18.45/hr, effective January 1, 2026, for anyone working 2 or more hours a week in the city. Defaults to California state. City Business Tax measured on employee count (base of about $220, adjusted each July 1). County rules: defaults to California state.
San FranciscoCity and County of San Francisco $19.61/hr, effective July 1, 2026, the highest floor of the ten (a reduced rate applies to government supported employees). 1 hour per 30 worked with no annual use cap; balance cap of 72 hours (40 hours for employers with fewer than 10 employees). Payroll expense tax repealed in 2021; business registration and gross receipts tax remain. Two per-hour spending mandates ride on payroll: Health Care Security Ordinance ($2.74 to $4.11/hr, 20+ employees) and Paid Parental Leave top-up (20+ employees). Consolidated city and county, so no separate county layer.
FresnoFresno County Defaults to California state. Defaults to California state. City Business Tax Certificate (flat or gross receipts based, no payroll tax). County rules: defaults to California state.
SacramentoSacramento County Defaults to California state. Defaults to California state. Business Operations Tax certificate (gross receipts based, capped at $5,000 a year). County rules: defaults to California state.
Long BeachLos Angeles County Citywide: defaults to California state ($16.90/hr). Hotels with 100+ rooms: $26.50/hr from July 1, 2026 (Measure RW), rising to $29.50 by 2028. Defaults to California state, except covered hotel workers receive 5 paid sick days a year, paid out at year end. Business license priced per employee (base fee plus a per-head amount that updates each July 1). LA County's unincorporated rate does not apply inside Long Beach.
OaklandAlameda County $17.34/hr, effective January 1, 2026. Hotels with 50+ rooms: $18.85/hr with health benefits or $25.14/hr without (Measure Z). 1 hour per 30 worked with no annual use cap; balance cap of 72 hours (40 hours for employers with fewer than 10 employees). Gross receipts business tax certificate (Measure T rates by classification). County rules: defaults to California state.
BakersfieldKern County Defaults to California state. Defaults to California state. Gross receipts business tax certificate with a $25 minimum. County rules: defaults to California state.
AnaheimOrange County Citywide: defaults to California state ($16.90/hr). Measure L living wage applies only to resort-area hospitality employers with 25+ employees that take a city subsidy (indexed every January 1). Defaults to California state. City business license; service businesses pay $68 plus $10 per employee. County rules: defaults to California state.
State defaults, as of September 29, 2026: minimum wage $16.90/hr (January 1, 2026); paid sick leave 40 hours or 5 days per year with an 80-hour cap; daily overtime after 8 hours and double time after 12; SDI withheld at 1.3% with no wage ceiling; CalSavers required for employers without a retirement plan. Statewide industry floors apply in every city: $20.00/hr for covered fast food chains and $22.00 to $25.00/hr for health care workers. Local rates adjust every January 1 and July 1; sample content for staging review, confirm with counsel before publishing. Sources: LA Office of Wage Standards, San Diego OLSE, SF OLSE, City of Oakland, City of Long Beach, California DIR.

Managed HR Services rules by city

Hiring, scheduling and benefits rules that change by city.
Beyond payroll, several California cities add their own hiring, scheduling, health spending and leave ordinances. This is what a managed HR team tracks for you in each of the ten largest cities.
Local rule differs from the state default Defaults to California state
HR and employment rule differences versus California state defaults in the ten largest California cities
City (county) Hiring and scheduling Benefits, leave and pay practices Industry rules, notices and county
Los AngelesLos Angeles County Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring (10+ employees): no criminal history inquiry until after a conditional offer, written individualized assessment, and fair chance language in every job ad. Fair Work Week (retail, 300+ employees): 14-day schedule notice, predictability pay and rest between shifts. 48 hours of paid sick leave (state: 40). Hotels with 60+ rooms owe a $4.25/hr health benefit payment. No local parental leave mandate. Hotel worker protection and training ordinances, Freelance Worker Protections (written contracts for $600+ engagements), grocery worker retention. City posters required in English plus any language spoken by 5% or more of the workforce. LA County's fair chance, fair workweek and hotel ordinances stop at the city line.
San DiegoSan Diego County Defaults to California state. City Earned Sick Leave Ordinance tracks state amounts but is separately enforced, with its own new-hire notice. No local parental leave mandate. Hospitality Minimum Wage Ordinance (July 1, 2026) for large hotels, amusement parks and named event centers. Annual city wage and sick leave poster plus a hire-date notice in five languages. County Fair Chance Ordinance applies only in unincorporated areas.
San JoseSanta Clara County Opportunity to Work Ordinance (36+ employees): offer additional hours to qualified part-time staff before hiring new employees or temps, keep schedule records for 4 years, post the notice. Defaults to California state. City minimum wage poster and Opportunity to Work notice. County rules: defaults to California state.
San FranciscoCity and County of San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance (5+ employees): no inquiry until after a conditional offer, no consideration of convictions older than 7 years, job-ad language and an annual report; amendments effective August 10, 2026. Formula Retail scheduling rules for chains with 40+ locations. Salary History Ordinance bars considering past pay. Health Care Security Ordinance: $2.74 to $4.11/hr of health spending (20+ employees). Paid Parental Leave top-up to 100% of pay for 8 weeks (20+ employees; tenure requirement drops to 90 days in 2027 and 2028). Family Friendly Workplace, Lactation and Public Health Emergency Leave ordinances. 72-hour sick leave cap. Displaced worker and formula retail retention rules. Roughly nine required OLSE posters; HCSO and Fair Chance annual reports due May 1. Consolidated city and county, so no separate county layer.
FresnoFresno County Defaults to California state. Defaults to California state. Defaults to California state, including county rules.
SacramentoSacramento County Ban-the-box applies only to city contractors with $250,000+ contracts and 20+ employees; all other employers default to the state Fair Chance Act. Defaults to California state. Defaults to California state, including county rules.
Long BeachLos Angeles County Defaults to California state. Defaults to California state. Hotel rules: Measure RW wage ($26.50/hr at hotels with 100+ rooms), Measure WW panic buttons and workload limits (50+ rooms), permanent retention and recall for hotels and janitorial employers with 25+ employees. Self-checkout staffing ordinance for large grocery and drug stores. LA County ordinances do not apply inside Long Beach.
OaklandAlameda County Defaults to California state. Measure FF sick leave: 72-hour balance cap for employers with 10+ (40 for smaller), no annual use cap, hire-date notice required. Measure Z hotel rules (50+ rooms): benefits-linked wage, panic buttons, 4,000 sq ft daily cleaning limit. Hospitality Right to Recall ordinance. Service charges must pass through to the workers who earned them. County rules: defaults to California state.
BakersfieldKern County Defaults to California state. Defaults to California state. Defaults to California state, including county rules.
AnaheimOrange County Defaults to California state. Defaults to California state. Measure L living wage and service charge pass-through for subsidized resort-area hospitality employers with 25+ employees. No hotel worker ordinance (Measure A failed in 2023). County rules: defaults to California state.
State defaults, as of September 29, 2026: Fair Chance Act (5+ employees, no conviction inquiry before a conditional offer), CFRA leave (5+ employees, 12 weeks), state Paid Family Leave through SDI (up to 8 weeks, employee funded), harassment prevention training every 2 years (5+ employees), workplace violence prevention plan, lactation accommodation, pay transparency and wage theft notices, CalSavers. Sample content for staging review, confirm with counsel before publishing. Sources: LA Fair Chance, LA Fair Work Week, SF OLSE, San Jose Opportunity to Work, Oakland Workplace Standards, Long Beach EDO, California CRD.

CoAd offices in California

Local teams in four California cities.
Meet with a payroll or HR specialist near you, or reach our support team by phone and chat from anywhere in the state.
Bay Area
Danville
15 Railroad Avenue, 1st Floor, Danville, CA 94526
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Los Angeles
Pasadena
35 N. Lake Avenue, Suite 140, Pasadena, CA 91101
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Orange County
Irvine
18301 Von Karman Ave, Suite 490, Irvine, CA 92612
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San Diego
San Diego
12526 High Bluff Drive, Suite 230, San Diego, CA 92130
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FAQ

Questions California employers ask us.
The answers below are a starting point. A CoAd specialist can walk through the rules for your cities and your headcount.
Does CoAd handle city and county minimum wages in California?

Yes. CoAdQuantum applies the right rate for each employee's work location, including the January 1 and July 1 local increases in cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Oakland, and the county rates for unincorporated areas. Rates update automatically when a city publishes a change.

How does CoAd track paid sick leave when a city rule is more generous than the state's?

California law sets the floor at 40 hours or 5 days a year. Where a city ordinance goes further, such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, San Diego, Berkeley or Emeryville, we accrue and cap at the local rule for employees working there, and the balance prints on every pay stub as the state requires.

Do you file California payroll taxes and SDI for us?

Yes. We calculate, withhold, file and pay federal and California employer taxes, including SDI withholding, UI and ETT with the EDD, and any local employer taxes, plus year-end W-2s and 1099s. Deposits and filings are made on the schedule the EDD assigns to your account.

What is the difference between Payroll and Managed HR Services?

Payroll runs pay, taxes and compliance-ready records on CoAdQuantum. Managed HR Services adds a dedicated HR team on top of payroll: handbooks, onboarding, benefits administration, harassment prevention training, workplace investigations and tracking of every new city ordinance. You can start with Payroll and add HR later without changing systems.

Can CoAd help with harassment prevention training and the workplace violence prevention plan?

Yes. Managed HR Services covers the SB 1343 harassment prevention training that employers with 5 or more employees must provide every two years, and a written workplace violence prevention plan under SB 553, with training records kept in CoAdQuantum.

Does CoAd have offices in California?

Yes. CoAd has offices in Danville, Pasadena, Irvine and San Diego, and our payroll and HR specialists support employers across the state by phone, chat and video every business day.

Can we switch to CoAd in the middle of the year?

Yes. We load your year-to-date payroll history so W-2s and quarterly filings stay accurate, and a CoAd specialist manages the transition from your current provider. Timing depends on your size and how many locations you run, and we map it out with you before you commit.

Let's get to work

Your team. Your needs.
HR that’s built for you.
Payroll and HR for California, without the compliance guesswork. Talk to a CoAd specialist near you.