Brief

Councilmember Heather Hutt introduced a motion to establish a city-sponsored employee micro loan program offering low or no-interest loans to city workers. The motion, seconded by Councilmember Tim McOsker, aims to provide financial relief to employees facing hardship. The file was referred to the Budget and Finance Advisory Committee and the Personnel and Hiring Committee on the date of introduction. It remains pending committee review.

Full summary

Councilmember Heather Hutt introduced this motion on June 23, 2026, citing the acute financial vulnerability of low-wage and part-time city employees. The motion points to a Personnel Department analysis of payroll data showing that part-time workers in most departments studied earned less than $1,000 per pay period, and that more than half had at least one pay period with zero hours worked. The motion also cites a 2025 Nasdaq study ranking Los Angeles as the least affordable city for median income earners, and a USC Sol Price School study finding that predatory financial products such as payday loans, auto title loans, and buy-now-pay-later services can carry interest rates as high as 391 percent. The motion frames these workers as the backbone of municipal operations who nonetheless lack access to affordable credit. Rather than immediately creating a program, the motion instructs the Chief Legislative Analyst, with assistance from the Personnel Department and the City Administrative Officer, to produce a report covering three areas: how prevalent and effective city-sponsored employee micro loan programs are in other jurisdictions, including San Francisco and Austin; whether such a program is feasible for Los Angeles; and which local or regional financial partners could administer a pilot program. A second directive instructs the CLA to assess regulatory considerations, including fair lending standards, to ensure any eventual pilot would be structured with sound underwriting and equitable treatment of borrowers. The motion was referred on the day of introduction to both the Budget and Finance Advisory Committee and the Personnel and Hiring Committee. No committee action has yet occurred. The file remains in its earliest stage, with the two-year expiration window running until June 23, 2028.

Activity (1)

• 2026-06-23 Motion referred to Budget and Finance Advisory Committee; Personnel and Hiring Committee.

Documents (1)

• 2026-06-23 Motion · motion