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LA proposal to raise minimum wage advances

LA proposal to raise minimum wage advances

Full city council scheduled to vote Wednesday on ordinance

The Los Angeles City Council is expected to vote Wednesday on a $15 per hour minimum wage proposal, although details of the ordinance remain in flux.

On Friday, the council’s Economic Development Committee moved the ordinance forward, for the time being, without a proposed exemption for unionized companies, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The full council is expected to pass the ordinance, and Mayor Eric Garcetti has indicated his support. The ordinance would increase the city’s minimum wage from the current $9 per hour to $15 per hour in phases by July 2020. Businesses with fewer than 25 employees would have an extra year to comply.

However, lawmakers are still considering a number of proposed additions to the law, including the possible addition of a sick-leave mandate, and a proposed exemption that would allow companies with collective bargaining agreements to negotiate a lower wage with their employees.

Pushed at the last minute by labor groups, the union exemption was seen by some as hypocritical, given the activists’ earlier position firmly against any kind of subminimum wage.

On Friday, the committee asked city officials for a report on the exemption, according to the Times.

Also under consideration is whether service charges used by some restaurant owners to offset increased labor costs should be restricted under the ordinance.

Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected].
Follow her on Twitter: @livetodineout

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