CA SB1049

Requires the Department of Industrial Relations to develop a certification program for employers that pay a living wage, defined as the lowest wage allowing full-time and part-time workers to afford housing and basic expenses including childcare, food, transportation, health care, and other necessities.

Mandates the department, in conjunction with the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development and Director of Housing and Community Development, to examine housing costs by county, region, and statewide to create a formula for calculating living wage amounts in each area.

Requires housing costs to not exceed 30 percent of monthly earned income and ensures the living wage calculation accounts for appropriate housing based on household size and configuration.

Requires annual reports to the Legislature by December 15, commencing in 2025, detailing the living wage for each county, region, and the state with annual adjustments for housing cost inflation and general inflation.

Establishes legislative findings that most California minimum wage earners cannot afford housing and that low-wage poverty disproportionately affects Latino and Black families.