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By Jasmine Laws
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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.
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).
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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.
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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
Jessica Durrum, deputy director of Policy and Campaigns at Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE), told Newsweek: "This policy updates existing laws to ensure that the workers who keep Los Angeles' profitable tourism industry running are healthy and housed. As Los Angeles prepares to host a wave of megaevents leading up to the 2028 Olympics, this is a critical measure to make sure that tourism workers can afford to live in the city where they work and not be displaced by skyrocketing housing costs.
"It's also a commonsense measure that will enrich the entire city because when workers have more money in their pockets, they spend it in the local economy. We know for a fact that the tourism industry has thrived after past similar wage increases, and that there are positive economic impacts. In terms of this new policy, an economic impact study commissioned by Los Angeles City Council found that this new law will result in an estimated increase of over $1.2 billion in income regionally by 2028, with approximately two-thirds of the wage gain spent locally."
Los Angeles City Council member Monica Rodriguez told Newsweek: "I opposed this increase because while the intent may be well-meaning, the execution lacks fiscal foresight. This policy imposes a significant wage and health benefit increase overnight that will inevitably result in higher hotel rates, reduced hours for hotel workers, and job losses–not just in hotels, but across businesses that rely on tourism: restaurants, retail, attractions, and our struggling commercial corridors. Tying the wage increase to the 2028 Olympics may sound appealing, but the reality is that many of those events are happening outside city limits, yet this increase only impacts the City of Los Angeles making our hotels less competitive and undercutting our ability to attract tourists resulting in a loss of TOT, taxes and other economic impacts that the City will lose as we are facing a $1 billion deficit and laying off workers.
"My concern remains that we are on a path to having the highest-paid unemployed workforce in the country, where wages go up, but job opportunities disappear because we failed to think through the economic impact on our small businesses, hotels, and the broader tourism sector."
Los Angeles City Council member Hugo Soto-Martínez told Newsweek: "This is what it looks like when working people come together and fight – we win. For too long, the workers who make this city run have been treated as disposable. This ordinance makes it clear if you work in this city, you deserve to live in this city — with dignity, health care, and a living wage."
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.
Update 5/15/25, 1:55 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Jessica Durrum, Monica Rodriguez and Hugo Soto-Martínez.
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