Los Angeles lawmakers have advanced a measure that would make the city home to the nation’s highest minimum wage, approving a plan to raise hourly pay to $30 for tens of thousands of tourism workers by 2028, the year the city is set to host the Olympic Games.
The Los Angeles City Council voted 12-3 on Wednesday to approve the proposal, which applies to hotels with more than 60 rooms and businesses operating at Los Angeles International Airport.
Newsweek reached out to Councilmembers John Lee, Traci Park and Monica Rodriguez, who opposed the bill, as well as Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez, who supported the bill, outside of regular working hours via email for comment.
Why It Matters
The tourism industry is one of the top five employers in Los Angeles County, supporting more than 540,000 Angelenos, according to the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA).
However, there have been growing concerns about the sector, which has not fully rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, Los Angeles only saw 79 percent of the number of international visitors it had in 2019, according to the AHLA. The association warned that “slower-than-anticipated pandemic recovery” coupled with other factors, including the wildfires, have massively impacted the tourism industry.
Industry groups argue that the wage plan will add pressure to businesses already struggling with staffing and a drop-off in tourism.
What To Know
The measure would result in a 48 percent wage increase for hotel workers and a 56 percent rise for airport employees over the next three years.
The minimum wage for large hotel workers is currently two dollars higher than the standard minimum wage in the city, at over $18.
The wage increases would be brought in gradually, starting with $22.50 per hour in July 2025, increasing to $25 in 2026, $27.50 in 2027, and finally $30 in July 2028.
Several other amendments are also being proposed to the existing Hotel Worker Minimum Wage Ordinance.
The new ruling would also enforce training requirements. Employers must provide six hours of paid training annually to each employee, covering safety, worker rights, harassment, discrimination and other topics.
The ordinance would also instruct hotel employers to provide $8.35 per hour for their workers’ health care by July 2026.
What People Are Saying
The Hotel Association of Los Angeles, in an October 2024 letter to the Chair of the Economic, Community Development and Jobs Committee: “The proposed Hotel Worker Minimum Wage Ordinance is misguided and its economic impact analysis utterly incomplete. The proposed ordinance calls for a dramatic increase in hotel wages within 60 days of adoption. Increasing hourly wages to $24.40 with an additional $8.35 for health benefits would result in a 69% increase in payroll in just two months. No industry can afford that financial uptick in such a short period of time.”
The American Hotel and Lodging Association’s 2025 report on tourism in Los Angeles: “Los Angeles’ tourism industry has historically been a top contributor to the city’s economy. However, the compounded effects of a lagging pandemic recovery, the devastating wildfires, soaring operational costs, and decreased international travel have brought the hospitality industry to an inflection point.
“If the situation does not improve soon, the industry anticipates more permanent hotel closures and worker layoffs, which would impact thousands of residents, cost the city millions in tax revenue, and jeopardize the success of upcoming major international events such as the World Cup and Olympics.”
What Happens Next
The council will hold a second vote on the proposal next week. If approved again, the ordinance will take effect and begin phasing ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games.
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