(Daily Signal)—In a classic case of central planning, lawmakers in Los Angeles passed a bill in May to bring the minimum wage for hotel and airport workers to $30 by 2028, while also imposing a new $8.25 per hour mandatory health care contribution. Implementation of that bill is currently on hold as the city clerk reviews the signatures of a referendum petition that would bring the bill to a public vote in June 2026.
Los Angeles’ sector-specific wage hike follows on the heels of California’s statewide $20 minimum wage mandate for fast-food workers that went into effect in April 2024.
The consequences of that wage hike on the fast-food industry should be a warning sign to Los Angeles, especially as it prepares to host the 2028 Summer Olympics. Crucial to the success of those Olympic games will be the capability of the city’s hotels and its Los Angeles International Airport to serve an estimated 15 million visitors.
According to a new study published in the National Bureau of Economic Research, California’s 25% increase in the minimum wage (from $16 to $20) for fast-food workers led to a 3.2% decline in fast food employment, which translated to 18,000 lost jobs.
As noted by the researchers, the actual employment decline associated with a $4 or 25% increase in the minimum wage is almost certainly much higher. That’s because the researchers looked at the entire limited-service restaurant sector, but restaurants with fewer than 60 establishments nationwide were excluded, and some of the areas included already had minimum wages above $16—San Francisco, for example, was already at $18.67—and thus experienced smaller wage increases.
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