How Heavy is the Crown of Highest Minimum Wage?

In West Hollywood, CA, they passed a law in 2021 that mandated increases in the minimum wage tied to the rate of inflation. Now, the city sandwiched between Beverly Hills and Los Angeles has the highest minimum wage in the nation: $19.08 per hour.

California’s state minimum wage is $15.50, the third-highest in the nation, but more than two dozen California cities have higher minimum wages than the state, according to think tank Economic Policy Institute. In San Francisco, the minimum wage is $18.07; in Los Angeles, it’s $16.78.

As a result of the 2021 ordinance, West Hollywood’s minimum wage was raised several times in the past two years. These mandated increases were accompanied by a City Council mandate that all full-time employees receive at least 96 hours a year of paid time off for sick leave and 80 hours they can take off without pay.

Several California industries have recently introduced pay raises for minimum-wage positions. Kaiser Permanente health care workers secured a contract that includes a $25 per hour minimum wage in the state.

Fast food workers across California soon will make a minimum wage of $20 per hour, thanks to an Assembly Bill, signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September, which raised the minimum by $4.

In advance of the law going into effect next week, Pizza Hut has disclosed that it will lay off more than 1,200 delivery drivers in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside County.

Pizza Hut franchises are pivoting toward third-party apps like DoorDash for food deliveries. Southern California Pizza Co., a Pizza Hut franchise, is planning to lay off 841 drivers.

West Hollywood’s mandated wage increases are generating pushback from a group of small business owners who want a moratorium on minimum wage increases in the city.

A group of more than 50 local business, organized by the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, sent a letter to the City Council that called for a moratorium on further minimum wage increases through 2025 or until the rate aligns with the Los Angeles rate, according to a report in the Seattle Times.

The letter also asked the city to rescind the mandated paid time-off policy. Genevieve Morrill, president of the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, told the newspaper the ordinance had negatively impacted numerous workers, causing them to lose hours or jobs after small businesses had closed their doors.

Mayor Sepi Shyne, who took office this year, told the Times she supports the minimum wage ordinance but is “seriously listening” to resistance from small businesses.

The minimum wage ordinance has the backing of UNITE HERE Local 11, which represents 30,000 workers at SoCal hotels and restaurants. Kurt Peterson, co-president of the local, said West Hollywood had established an example of raising living standards that should be replicated across California.