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Los Angeles City Council passes new minimum wage laws for hotel workers—Just in time for the 2028 Olympics

6/10/25

By: Mariam E. Grace and Daniel Parker Jett

On May 23, 2025, the Los Angeles City Council (“City Council”) voted to amend the City’s Municipal Code and Administrative Code to increase the wages and health benefits for employees of hotels operating within the City of Los Angeles and at Los Angeles International Airport (“LAX”). The new laws also enhanced training requirements and enforcement measures relating to violations of the City’s wage and hour laws.  

Importantly, the City Council changed the definition of “Hotel” in the LAMC to clarify that it applies to hotels with 60 or more guest rooms. This provides a more precise definition of covered entities, which previously merely stated that a “Hotel” was an establishment that provided temporary lodging for payment in the form of overnight accommodations.  

Under the new laws, beginning on July 1, 2026, Minimum Wage for a hotel worker will be $22.50 per hour, increasing annually by $2.50 per hour until it reaches a wage rate of no less than $30.00 per hour starting on July 1, 2028—just in time for the 2028 Olympics to start– and matching the Minimum Wage schedule previously adopted for workers at LAX. Additionally, beginning on July 1, 2026, hotel employers must provide their employees with group health benefits or pay them a cash wage supplement to alleviate their purchase of health insurance.  

Employers operating at LAX also must provide group health insurance benefits to their LAX employees, but to the extent that those employers cannot furnish health insurance plans to their workers, those employers must supplement those employees’ wages. The previously passed ordinance mandated that LAX employees’ cash supplement be at least $8.35 per hour, but the most recently passed amendments lowered that supplement to $7.65 per hour, if they do not already receive health benefits. If a hotel or airport employee waives his or her health care benefits due to eligibility to participate in alternative group health plans (such as Medicare, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs health plans, or the health plan of a spouse, parent or domestic partner), then the employer must pay a monthly stipend of $100.00 for full-time employees (at least 30 hours per week or 130 hours per month) or $50.00 for part-time employees (less than 30 hours per week or 130 hours per month) to help cover the cost of that alternative health plan.  

In adopting the new law, the Council relied on a Berkeley Economic Advising and Research (“BEAR”) study conducted between 2022 and 2024 for the proposition that “more than 40% of Airport Workers and more than 60% of Hotel Workers will receive a wage increase as a result of this policy.” Furthermore, the Council contends that 15% of LAX employees and 35% of hotel employees will receive expanded health coverage under the new law, directly affecting approximately 23,000 hotel employees. The Council purports to “promote the health, safety and welfare of thousands of Hotel Workers by ensuring they receive decent compensation for the work they perform.” However, there has been a less than favorable response to the Ordinance by hotel owners, business groups and LAX concession companies. 

For more information, please contact Mariam Grace at mariam.grace@fmglaw.com or Daniel Parker Jett at daniel.jett@fmglaw.com. 

Information conveyed herein should not be construed as legal advice or represent any specific or binding policy or procedure of any organization. Information provided is for educational purposes only. These materials are written in a general format and not intended to be advice applicable to any specific circumstance. Legal opinions may vary when based on subtle factual distinctions. All rights reserved. No part of this presentation may be reproduced, published or posted without the written permission of Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP.