LA healthcare worker wage petition proceeds to verification stage

A petition aimed at raising the minimum wage for people working at covered healthcare facilities in Los Angeles to $25 per hour has enough raw signatures to proceed to the verification stage, the City Clerk announced Friday.

The “Minimum Wage for Employees Working at Healthcare Facilities” initiative seeks an ordinance to raise the workers’ minimum wage and have it adjusted annually to account for increases in the cost of living. The ordinance would also prohibit employers from funding the minimum wage increase by laying off workers or reducing benefits or hours.

People who work for healthcare facilities in Los Angeles do not have their own minimum wage law and are included under the city’s general minimum wage of $15, which will increase to $16.04 on July 1. Los Angeles’ minimum wage is based on the region’s Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers in the LA metropolitan area.

If enough signatures are verified, the Los Angeles City Council must either adopt the proposed ordinance, call a special election to submit the proposed ordinance to voters or submit the proposed ordinance to voters during the next available regular city election. Ballots have already been sent out for the upcoming June 7 election.

The LA City Clerk approved the initiative’s petition for circulation on Feb. 16, giving proponents 120 days to collect at least 61,076 valid signatures. Proponents turned in the petitions on May 4.