Los Angeles is preparing for a high-profile stretch of events with the FIFA World Cup in 2026, the Super Bowl in 2027, and the Olympics in 2028. Yet behind the scenes, local unions are pushing for a slew of minimum wage hikes and other ballot measures that could force businesses closed before the celebrations even begin.
The city of Los Angeles, as well as the rest of the county, has been raising its minimum wage for over a decade. In LA proper, the city even began implementing an even-higher wage mandate for hotels starting in 2015. In May 2025, the LA City Council amended the existing City Hotel Work Minimum Wage Ordinance to raise the minimum wage for hotel and airport workers to $25 in July 2026, $27.50 in July 2027, and $30 in July 2028.
Now, there are several competing ballot measure proposals on this issue – one trying to limit the increases to the city’s hotel worker wage mandate, and one seeking to increase wages citywide.
What are the current proposals on Los Angeles minimum wages?
- $30 Minimum Wage for Hotel and Tourism Workers: The LA Alliance for Tourism, Jobs and Progress, representing various hotels, airlines, and trade associations, quickly filed for a voter referendum to repeal the City Hotel Work Minimum Wage Ordinance, arguing the combined costs could trigger layoffs and closures. This temporarily suspended enforcement set to begin July 1, and has now placed the initiative on California’s 2026 ballot, letting voters decide whether the ordinance will take effect. In the meantime, Los Angeles’ existing hotel workers’ minimum wage is set at $21.01 per hour, adjusted from last year’s rate based on inflation.
- $30 Minimum Wage Citywide: The union behind the original $30 hotel and tourism minimum wage ordinance increase responded to the referendum by filing four proposed ballot measures, including one that would expand the $30 wage mandate to all workers regardless of industry in the city by 2028.
Los Angeles’ History of High Wage Mandates Has Stunted The Hospitality Industry
Starting in 2016, Los Angeles City and County have raised minimum wage rates above the state requirement, including the city wage requirement for hotel workers. Since then, the city and county hourly rates for all workers have increased by roughly 70% up to more than $17.80 this year, and the hourly rate for hotel workers has increased by roughly 37% up to $21.01.
Bureau of Labor Statistics quarterly data for accommodation and food services in the county show that growth slowed after 2015, when the City of Los Angeles first implemented its $15.37 hotel-specific minimum wage, which increased based on inflation every year after.
- In the years prior to the city’s hotel wage law through 2014, year over year employment growth in accommodation and food services peaked at 6.2%
- Following the introduction of increasing city and county minimum wage rates and a higher minimum wage for workers in hotels in 2015, annual employment growth was reduced down to just 1.6% in 2019.
- Following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, growth has stagnated even further – dropping to 0.2% job growth in 2024.
This slowdown to a near halt in employment growth shows the negative impacts Los Angeles’ existing minimum wage increases have already stunted hospitality and tourism businesses, slashing job opportunities. Adding another steep increase – up to 42% for hotels – on top of these existing hikes could further exacerbate these concerning trends and challenge the city’s hospitality workforce well beyond the 2028 Olympics.
Other Lessons From California’s Wage Hike Experiments
California is no stranger to unprecedented wage hikes that have failed workers and businesses.
- In West Hollywood, annual hikes drove the minimum wage from roughly $13-$14 in 2021 to $19.65 this year, prompting businesses to slash hours, cut staff, or close entirely over the last few years. A city-commissioned study found 22% of hourly workers lost their jobs, and another 17% saw their scheduled hours drop. Business owners called on the city council for relief, and the Council voted to delay scheduled 2023 increases by a year.
- Statewide, California’s $20 minimum wage mandate for fast food restaurants has proven devastating to restaurants and their employees. UC-San Diego and Texas A&M economists found fast food industry job losses as high as 18,000 since the law was enacted in 2023. EPI also found the median California fast food employee lost roughly seven weeks of scheduled hours under the $20 minimum wage law, compared to the year before it was in place. The law also triggered a rash of price hikes on fast food menus across the state, as well as significant restaurant closures.
Los Angeles has a history of unprecedented high wage mandates, even in a state with some of the highest minimum wage rates in the country. Combined with the rapid increases of an even higher wage requirement for hotel workers, this has resulted in a stagnating hotel industry. Californians should heed this cautionary tale before green lighting yet another drastic increase up to $30 an hour.