Los Angeles City Council Postpones Vote on Hotel and Airport Workers Until December 11, 2024

During the Los Angeles City Council's meeting on November 20, 2024, the council discussed whether to approve proposed amendments to the Living Wage Ordinance and the Hotel Worker Minimum Wage Ordinance. The amendments would raise the minimum wage for hotel and airport workers to $25 per hour by February 1, 2025, with a gradual increase to $30 per hour by 2028.

Following discussions between council members and various interested parties, the council decided to postpone the vote on the proposed amendments until December 11, 2024. Several parties affiliated with the hotel and airport industries, including Doane Liu, executive director of the City Tourism Department, argued that the proposed wage increases could severely harm Los Angeles' tourism industry and potentially lead to job losses. In response, multiple council members introduced potential changes to the proposed amendments to narrow their scope and delay the timeline for the wage increases. The final version of the proposed amendments to be considered on December 11, 2024, has not yet been determined. Notably, some proposed amendments contain ordinance language similar to the "direct employment" language limiting hotel subcontracting service in the New York City SAFE Hotels Act, which was enacted earlier this month. In the interim, local industry associations are looking for hotel-owner and -operator letter-writing support to bolster political opposition to the law.

We will continue to monitor the docket and will send out an alert should there be any updates. In addition, please find a link to the docket here.