KTLA

L.A. County considers $25 minimum wage for hotel, theme park workers

Amusement park and hotel workers in Los Angeles County may be getting raises in the coming years as the Board of Supervisors will vote on a large increase to their minimum wage.

On Tuesday, Supervisor Janice Hahn, 4th District, proposed increasing base pay for workers in unincorporated L.A. County to at least $25 an hour, with that wage increasing to $30 an hour by 2028.

Currently, these workers are paid $16.90 per hour.

“Too many people in our communities are working full-time jobs but they cannot pay their rent. This board has the ability to do something about it, at least for the workers in the unincorporated areas of L.A. County, and I think we should,” Hahn said.

Hahn added that the minimum wage increase would apply to workers at hotels with more than 60 rooms. The Los Angeles Times identified the affected theme parks as Universal Studios Hollywood and Six Flags Magic Mountain.

Similar proposals are being considered in Los Angeles and Long Beach, Hahn added.

The L.A. proposal would also affect workers at hotels with more than 60 employees, as well as some workers at LAX. It would also bring the minimum wage to $30 per hour by 2028.

Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, 3rd District, who co-authored the motion with Hahn, was previously a member of the West Hollywood City Council where she also pushed to raise that city’s minimum wage, which is now the highest in the U.S.

Heather Rozman, president and CEO of the Hotel Association of Los Angeles, issued a statement to the Times criticizing the plan, which she said would “have a devastating impact on small business and local government tax revenue.”

“Maybe the supervisors can pay their county staff a minimum wage of $25 an hour first,” Rozman said.