Opinion: L.A.’s hotel wage law lives

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A special Los Angeles minimum wage for workers at a handful of hotels near Los Angeles International Airport may take effect soon in the wake of an appeals court ruling today upholding a second attempt at a ‘living wage’ ordinance.

The City Council acted in 2006 to extend to hotels near LAX the living wage laws that until then had applied only to businesses with city contracts. A coalition of business groups gathered signatures for a referendum to overturn the ordinance, and rather than go to the ballot the council repealed its law. Then they replaced it with a second ordinance that also compelled the hotels to raise their workers’ pay and also committed the city to various property enhancements in the area. The business groups sued, asserting that the second ordinance was substantially the same as the first and, therefore, in violation of state election laws on referenda. The Superior Court agreed, but the Court of Appeal today reversed. Here’s the opinion.

News releases abound. The hotels, as you would expect, are none too pleased with ‘a decision not supported by facts or precedent’ in which the court ‘gutted the ability of Californians to challenge the acts of their government through a vote of the people.’

The New Century Coalition, which campaigned for the special wage, said the ordinance is important ‘because often hotel owners don’t pay a fair wage to their employees and this is a perfect example of what our public officials can do to reverse the growing gap between the rich and poor in our city.’

Backers said today’s ruling will lift 3,500 workers out of poverty. Opponents claim the ordinance is the first step of many to impose special wages on particular businesses based on their geographical location or their industry.

The Times editorial board opposed extending the living wage to the hotels. ‘The council should stop throwing good money after bad policy and instead withdraw the law,’ we said on January 3. ‘The living wage extension is an unwarranted and capricious government intrusion into private industry that could chase businesses out of Los Angeles while encouraging hotels to raise prices or lay off workers. It reinforces the growing notion that City Hall is not friendly toward employers.’