LOS ANGELES
On Wednesday, Sept. 24, the L.A. City Council voted in favor of increasing the minimum wage of hotel workers to $15.37 an hour, despite some business groups voicing their concern.
The measure was approved in a 12-to-3 vote, amid Mayor Eric Garcetti’s push to increase L.A.’s overall minimum wage to $13.25 per hour by 2017.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Council members said their decision on the proposal would “pull families out of poverty,” freeing hotel workers from having to hold a second job.
Critics from business groups countered that the minimum-wage hike could result in hotels cutting jobs and didn’t seem practical or fair if not put into place for all of L.A.’s workforce.
The $15.37 an hour wage boost is expected to go into effect by July 2015 for hotels with at least 300 rooms, and then will extend to smaller hotels with at least 125 rooms in 2016.
