The West Hollywood City Council will vote Monday on an ordinance creating a citywide minimum wage of $17.64 an hour.
If approved, the wage would take effect Jan. 1, 2022, and would be the highest minimum wage rate in the United States.
California’s current minimum wage is $13 an hour for employers with 25 employees or less, and $14 an hour for those with 26 or more employees. In 2022, both rates are to increase by $1 each.
The ordinance, proposed by City Councilmember John D’Amico, was initially intended to apply only to hotel workers. However, councilmembers decided against having a tiered minimum wage system in West Hollywood. The wage hike will apply across all sectors, with proponents of the ordinance pointing out most workers in West Hollywood already earn over the proposed new wage minimum.
The proposed wage hike still comes in well under the recommended living wage for workers in Los Angeles County. Dr. Amy K. Glasmeier of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology estimated that in 2019 a childless worker required an hourly wage of $19.35 to live sustainably within county lines.
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