Brief

Councilmember John S. Lee, seconded by Traci Park and Monica Rodriguez, introduced a motion to address ambiguities in the Hotel Worker Minimum Wage Ordinance regarding hotel operators, on-site food and beverage services, and which workers are covered. The motion seeks to define the primary function test and clarify applicability thresholds. It was referred to the Economic Development and Jobs Committee and the Trade, Travel, and Tourism Committee on May 27, 2026, and remains pending.

Full summary

Councilmember John S. Lee introduced this motion to amend the reach of Los Angeles's Hotel Worker Minimum Wage Ordinance by creating a categorical exemption for workers employed by independently operated restaurants and bars located on hotel property. The key distinction Lee draws is between businesses whose primary function is food and beverage service and the core hotel functions — such as room service, banquet operations, and lodging — that would remain covered under the ordinance. The motion targets tenant operators: restaurants and bars that lease space within a hotel but operate as separate, often locally owned businesses. The motion's rationale is competitive equity. Lee argues that independently operated restaurants inside hotels face a different economic reality than hotel employers themselves — they compete head-to-head with freestanding restaurants that are not subject to the HWMWO's higher wage floor, while operating on the narrow margins typical of the restaurant industry. Applying hotel-level wage mandates to these tenants, the motion contends, threatens their viability and could cost the city jobs and locally owned establishments. Critically, the motion includes a wage floor protection: the exclusion would not be retroactive, and any wages or benefits workers were already receiving under the HWMWO at the time the exemption takes effect could not be reduced as a result. Going forward, those wages would increase annually according to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), effectively converting them from hotel-ordinance wages to inflation-indexed wages. The motion was seconded by Councilmembers Traci Park and Monica Rodriguez and referred on May 27, 2026, to two committees: Economic Development and Jobs, and Trade, Travel, and Tourism. No committee hearings or reports have been recorded yet. The file expires in May 2028 if no action is taken. The proposal is likely to draw scrutiny from labor advocates who have championed the HWMWO's broad coverage, as well as support from restaurant industry groups and hotel tenants who view the ordinance's application to them as an overreach.

Activity (1)

• 2026-05-27 Motion referred to Economic Development and Jobs Committee; Trade, Travel, and Tourism Committee.

Documents (1)

• 2026-05-27 Motion · motion