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- West Hollywood City council backed a proposal to introduce a minimum wage of $17.64 an hour.
- This would surpass the $17.13 minimum set by Emeryville, California, the highest in the US.
- The COVID-19 pandemic has put the minimum wage back onto the political agenda.
An LA city council has voted to introduce what would be the highest minimum wage in the USA if passed.
On Wednesday, West Hollywood City council backed a proposal to introduce a citywide minimum wage of $17.64 an hour, as well as a swathe of paid sick leave and vacation provisions.
The rise will initially apply to hotel workers from January 1 2022, but will extend to cover all citywide workers by July 2023. The minimum wage will increase on July 1 each year in accordance with the Annual Consumer Price Index Adjustment, according to a statement on the council website.
The law will return for a second reading before it can be enacted, which is anticipated to take place on November 15, according to a statement on the council website.
If passed, the new wage would top the $17.13 an hour currently set by Emeryville, California, which is recognized to date as the highest in the country.
Council members first proposed reviewing the minimum wage in the district in February 2021, and say that the increase will lift workers out of poverty and provide protection from rising living costs.
Some businesses say that raising wages will increase pressure on firms already struggling to recover from the pandemic.
The state minimum wage currently ranges between $13 to $14 in California, second only to Washington DC's $15.20, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The federal minimum wage has been set at $7.25 since 2009, but some states have chosen to set their own rates.
Inequalities exposed by the pandemic have thrown the minimum wage back onto the political agenda. Companies have been forced to raise wages as a result of the turbulent labor market.
President Joe Biden agreed to pay federal contractors $15 an hour in April, and has expressed support for the implementation of a $15 minimum wage as part of his COVID-recovery plan. In reality, he has done little to prod it through Congress.
Polls suggest that the majority of Americans support the implementation of a $15 minimum wage, even if they don't always agree on when it should be implemented.