Primary Department: County Administration
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Jesse Dickerman, Interim County Administrator
Secondary Department: N/A
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official: N/A
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Transmittal
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Transmittal by the Office of County Administration of procedures for exceptions from the Harris County Employee Minimum Wage Policy.
end
Background and Discussion:
Adopted on March 27, 2025, the Employee Minimum Wage Policy sets a new wage floor of $20/hour for all employees paid directly by Harris County-including full-time, part-time, and temporary staff, regardless of funding source. Future adjustments shall be recommended by the Office of Management and Budget and informed by the MIT Living Wage Calculator.
On June 12, 2025, the Harris County Commissioners Court adopted amendments to the County’s Employee Minimum Wage Policy to allow for employees to request an exception from the policy. These exception requests are limited to specific circumstances where higher wages could impact participation in a program with income-based eligibility. Exceptions requested will be reviewed and approved by the department head or designee, Human Resources & Talent (HRT), and the County Attorney’s Office (CAO). If a disapproval occurs at any point, the process ends, and the decision is final. Subsequent requests for changes or removal of the cap will follow the same process.
Expected Impact:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this transmittal. Establishing the procedures as outlined in the attached process document will allow employees to request exception from the Harris County Employee Minimum Wage in very limited circumstances.
Alternative Options:
N/A
County Strategic Plan Goal: 3. Make our economy more inclusive.
County Strategic Plan Objective: L: Foster more living-wage jobs that ensure worker safety, benefits, and stability across all educational levels.
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): N/A
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): N/A
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): L1: Design a set of policies for Harris County to set dynamic living wage rates and ensure essential worker protections and high-quality benefits for all Harris County contracts, employees, and economic agreements.
Health Initiative (Goal 4): N/A
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): N/A
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): N/A
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
Prior Court Action (if any):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
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3/27/2025 |
462 |
Adopted the circulated amended Harris County Employee Minimum Wage Policy proposal, with a correction to update the employee minimum wage effective May 3, 2025 to $20 per hour. |
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6/12/2025 |
16 |
Adopted amendments to the Harris County Employee Minimum Wage Policy. |
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7/10/2025 |
213 |
No action on transmittal by the Office of County Administration of notification of exception handling related to the Harris County Employee Minimum Wage Policy. |
Location:
Address (if applicable):
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Anticipated Court Date: 8/14/2025
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): 9/6/2025
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Janet Gonzalez, Director, Office of County Administration; Kera Backer, Project Manager, Office of County Administration
Attachments (if applicable): Process for Minimum Wage Exceptions