California City Raises Minimum Wage To Highest In Country

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA — The West Hollywood City Council Wednesday approved a minimum wage hike that could soon be the highest minimum wage rate in the country. The City Council said the move is intended to help workers keep their families out of poverty in a city where the living wage is estimated at $19.35 per hour, according to a study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"West Hollywood has raised the wage and is once again leading the national conversation," West Hollywood Councilmember Lindsay Horvath said in a statement. "Cost of living is rising everywhere – it's getting more and more expensive to live, work, and raise a family. Our minimum wage should reflect that reality, and I am proud to be part of this thoughtful step in our city."

The new rates will take effect gradually. For employers with 50 or more employees, the rate will rise $15.50 per hour on Jan. 1, 2022, then rise to $16.50 per hour on July 1, 2022. It will rise another dollar on Jan. 1, 2023, before settling on $17.64 per hour on July 1, 2023.

For businesses with fewer than 50 employees, the rate will start at $15 per hour on Jan. 1, 2022, and rise a dollar every six months until landing at the same rate of $17.64 per hour on July 1, 2023.

The new ordinance also mandates 72 hours of compensated sick leave, 96 hours of compensated leave time, and 80 hours of uncompensated sick leave for hotel workers.

Assuming no other American cities raise their minimum wages higher before 2023, this will make West Hollywood's rate the highest in the nation. The current record is held by Emeryville, Calif., which raised the minimum wage to $17.13 per hour in July.

The new minimum wage was initially planned just for hotel workers, but council members eventually extended it to include all city workers.

"I'm just not sure why we would have a different minimum wage for any employee," councilmember John D'Amico told FoxBusiness.com. "We should choose the highest one and make that what our minimum wage is."

California's current minimum wage is $13/hour for companies with 25 or fewer employees, and $14 for companies with 26 or more staff members. Starting Jan. 1, the state's minimum wage will increase to $14 an hour for companies with 25 or fewer employees, and $15 for companies with 26 or more staff members.

Small businesses - 25 employees or fewer - will have their minimum wage go up to $15 at the beginning of 2023.

The federal minimum wage is just $7.25 per hour, a figure unchanged from 2009.
West Hollywood's move has been applauded by some and criticized by others. Reality TV star and former Beverly Hills Housewife Lisa Vanderpump, who owns three restaurants in West Hollywood, called into the council meeting to call the move "counterproductive."

"If we raise the minimum wage now, it's going to be counterproductive. We're going to see so many people that are going to find it unsustainable," Vanderpump said, claiming that tipped employees earn higher wages than other service workers. "So many people don't even know this is going on."

"We are supportive of being socially progressive, but this is an absolute business and job killer," Lee Maen, owner of BOA Steakhouse in the city, told KTLA News. "It's simply too much and too fast."

Others have said the bill doesn't go far enough. "I have some friends that work $17 an hour jobs in some other places and they're still struggling, so I guess it's a good start, but I think we could do a little better," West Hollywood worker Matthew Hendrickson told ABC7 News.

"I'm very much in favor of raising the minimum wage. I've had parents who worked low-income jobs, so I understand that kind of struggle," West Hollywood resident Taye Baldinazzo told ABC7. "And I just think everyone deserves to be able to live a normal lifestyle."