Dive Brief:
- Santa Monica Proper was accused of not paying its workers the minimum wage in Santa Monica, California, according to a class-action lawsuit filing in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, obtained by Hotel Dive.
- The lawsuit alleges that the luxury hotel has paid its workers below the minimum wages set forth by the Santa Monica Hotel Workers Living Wage Ordinance, which mandates tiered annual wage increases for hotel workers in the city.
- Hotel worker wage ordinances are in effect across several California cities. Elsewhere in the state, hotel associations are fighting a $30 minimum wage set to take effect in tandem with the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Dive Insight:
The Santa Monica Hotel Workers Living Wage Ordinance, which was enacted in 2016, mandates a wage of $19.73 per hour from July 1, 2023; $20.32 per hour from July 1, 2024; and $21.01 per hour from July 1, 2025 — all of which the lawsuit claims Santa Monica Proper has failed to pay.
“This shortfall not only undercuts their livelihoods but highlights the glaring hypocrisy of a luxury establishment profiting handsomely while skimping on fair pay for those who make it shine,” the lawsuit reads, going on to point out that the high-end hotel, which has rooms ranging from $650 to $2,400 a night, “pays some of its employees less than what it charges for a bowl of hummus.”
In an email to Hotel Dive, Proper Hospitality refuted the lawsuit’s claims.
“Santa Monica Proper Hotel operates under a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the union representing our team members, and we have honored that agreement from day one,” a spokesperson said. “Our compensation and benefits are highly competitive, and our team receives comprehensive health care coverage and retirement pension contributions—benefits that go above and beyond what the Santa Monica Hotel Worker Living Wage Ordinance requires.”
The lawsuit’s plaintiffs are employees at the hotel. The lawsuit’s attorneys and hospitality union Unite Here did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Santa Monica is one of several California cities with a minimum wage ordinance specifically for hotel employees. In 2023, workers represented by Unite Here Local 11 filed an initiative for what was then considered the highest minimum wage in the country: $30.
Since then, hotel workers have fought for, and won, a $30 minimum wage in Los Angeles, which is set to go into effect in 2028. Enforcement of the ordinance — which mandates tiered wage increases for every year leading up to 2028 — was paused when hotel associations and travel providers submitted a petition to overturn the wage.
In January, Hyatt Hotels agreed to pay $2.25 million to settle a lawsuit that claimed it had violated a “Housekeeper’s Bill of Rights” law in nearby Long Beach, California.