Dem-backed hotel wage hike eliminates hundreds of jobs, study says

A gradual increase in Los Angeles’ minimum wage that will mandate up to $30 an hour for hospitality workers, signed into law by Mayor Karen Bass, is already causing problems for the hospitality industry and putting pressure on the working class that minimum wage laws are supposed to help.

“Ultimately, the City of Los Angeles has imposed a completely unaffordable wage and benefits package on hotels at a time when Californians and Americans are focused on affordability,” Los Angeles Hotel Association (HALA) President Dr. Jackie Filla told Fox News Digital in an interview this week.

HALA recently commissioned a study that found hotels have cut or plan to cut 6% of positions, or about 650 jobs, since the minimum wage ordinance for hotel workers took effect in September 2025.

Mayor Bass signed the ordinance on May 27, 2025, following its approval by the Los Angeles City Council. The measure is often called “Olympic pay” in reference to the sporting event to be held in Los Angeles in 2028 and will increase the pay of LAX hotel and airport workers by up to $30 an hour by 2028.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass before speaking to the media in support of journalist Don Lemon in federal court on January 30, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Image)

The law has already led to an increase in wages to $22.50 an hour in July 2025, and will continue to increase gradually until it reaches $30 in July 2028. Filla says she is urging elected officials, from the City Council to the mayor, to make “amendments” to the ordinance to ease the burden on the hospitality industry.

“We are at the very beginning of a series of these increases and hundreds of hospitality workers have already lost their jobs,” Filla said. “Even more are seeing their hours reduced. We’ve seen hotel restaurants close, parking has already become more expensive, and improvements and new buildings have been delayed or canceled. So, taken together, these impacts should really ring alarm bells for our local policymakers. »

In many cases, the workers losing their jobs are blue-collar or blue-collar workers, and Filla pointed out that many managers and general managers started as cooks or dishwashers and advanced through executive training programs that are now less available due to financial shortfalls.

The study released by HALA found that a significant number of lost jobs were in labor-intensive positions, such as food service, housekeeping and parking.

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Los Angeles, California (iStock)

The study also found that 62% of hotels expect staff hours to decrease in 2026, with three-quarters of them planning reductions of at least 10%.

According to HALA, the impact extends beyond hotel wages and also affects contractors operating within hotel properties, and hotels have reported that two-thirds of third-party contractors are considering raising prices to offset wage increases, and one in five are considering canceling hotel contracts altogether.

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“Unlike the typical layoffs currently occurring in other sectors, these job losses, and this represents 6% of the jobs lost in a short period of time, were entirely politically driven, brought about by the mayor and city council,” Filla said. “And what’s particularly disturbing about all of this is that it wasn’t necessary. Hotels actually want to maintain and grow their workforce as these major events approach, but these costs increase significantly. Make this impossible.“

Fox News Digital has reached out to Bass’ office for comment.

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