According to a staff report, Santa Monica has linked hotel worker wages to Los Angeles wage standards since 2016. The issue returned to the council after the Los Angeles City Council adopted a new ordinance in May
The Santa Monica City Council on Tuesday will consider an emergency ordinance that would align the city’s hotel worker wage and health benefit requirements with recently adopted labor standards in Los Angeles.
City staff is recommending that the council approve an emergency amendment to Santa Monica’s Hotel Worker Living Wage Ordinance and introduce a companion ordinance for first reading. The proposed changes would take effect July 1 and are intended to maintain wage parity between hotel workers in Santa Monica and Los Angeles.
According to a staff report prepared by the City Attorney’s Office, Santa Monica has linked hotel worker wages to Los Angeles wage standards since 2016. The issue returned to the council after the Los Angeles City Council adopted a new ordinance May 26 that revised hotel worker wages and health care benefit requirements.
Under the Los Angeles ordinance, hotel workers at covered properties will receive a minimum wage of $25 per hour beginning July 1. The wage would increase incrementally to $30 per hour by 2030. Employers that do not provide a specified level of health care benefits would be required to pay workers an additional hourly amount beginning at $4.25 per hour, with increases scheduled in future years.
Santa Monica officials say the city’s current ordinance does not clearly address the new relationship between wages and health care benefits established by Los Angeles.
“If adopted, the set of ordinances would allow for the city to, effective July 1, 2026, align our local hotel worker wage schedule, the health care benefit-or-pay structure, and the 60-room threshold with what was recently adopted by the City of Los Angeles,” the staff report states.
One key question before the council is whether Santa Monica should adopt Los Angeles’ exemption for hotels with fewer than 60 guest rooms. According to city data, Santa Monica has 41 hotels, 16 of which have fewer than 60 rooms. Thirteen of those properties have fewer than 40 rooms.
The proposal has drawn opposition from a newly formed advocacy group called Save Santa Monica Hotels, which launched a petition urging the council to delay consideration of the measure.
The group argues the ordinance is being advanced too quickly and contends the city should conduct additional economic analysis and public outreach before taking action. The organization also claims the proposed wage and health care requirements could impose significant costs on hotels, particularly smaller operators.
Among its requests, the group is calling on the council to postpone action for 60 to 90 days, commission an independent economic impact study and disclose communications between elected officials and labor organizations that support the measure.
