Employment Law
Glendale Law represents employees who work in the City of Los Angeles. Jobs inside the city limits have their own rules on top of state law: a $18.42 minimum wage since July 1, 2026, at least 48 hours of paid sick leave, and a separate wage for larger hotels. The city's Office of Wage Standards enforces them.
Last updated October 4, 2026.
The City of Los Angeles sets its own employment rules, and its ordinances apply based on where the work is done, not where the employer is based. This page covers the city's local layer: its wage, sick leave, scheduling and hotel rules, and the office that enforces them. For the state protections that apply everywhere, see our employment law page. For the county-wide picture, see our page on the employment lawyer in Los Angeles County.
| Effective date | Hourly rate |
|---|---|
| July 1, 2022 | $16.04 |
| July 1, 2023 | $16.78 |
| July 1, 2024 | $17.28 |
| July 1, 2025 | $17.87 |
| July 1, 2026 | $18.42 |
The rate changes every July 1, based on the Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners in the Los Angeles area, and the office announces the new rate on February 1. The ordinance covers full-time, part-time and temporary workers regardless of immigration status, and the office says it will not ask a complainant about immigration status. Employers must post the city's notice at every workplace in English and in any language spoken by at least five percent of the workers there. Our page on the 2026 minimum wage in Glendale, Los Angeles and Pasadena compares the city rate with its neighbors.
More than the state minimum. The city's 2026 notice requires either at least 48 hours at the start of each year or accrual of one hour for every 30 hours worked, for employees who work in the city for the same employer for 30 days or more within a year. Leave is usable from the 90th day of employment, unused hours carry over subject to a cap of no less than 72 hours, and employers may limit use to 48 hours a year. Leave can be used for yourself, a family member, or any individual related by blood or affinity. Unused leave need not be paid out when a job ends, but it is reinstated if you are rehired within a year. The office notes that a 2024 state law, Senate Bill 616, does not preempt the city's stricter rules. Our page on paid sick leave in California explains the state rules that apply alongside the city's.
The Citywide Hotel Worker Minimum Wage Ordinance applies to hotels in the city with 60 or more guest rooms, and to hotels with 50 or more rooms in the Airport Hospitality Enhancement Zone. The city amended it on May 26, 2026, and its current wage chart shows:
| Period | Cash wage | Health benefit payment |
|---|---|---|
| July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 | $25.00 an hour | $4.25 an hour |
| July 1, 2027 to June 30, 2028 | $25.50 an hour | $6.00 an hour |
| July 1, 2028 to June 30, 2029 | $28.50 an hour | Pending calculation |
If the hotel does not provide health benefits, or pays less than the required amount toward them, the difference must be paid to the worker as additional hourly wages. The rates cover anyone whose primary place of work is one or more hotels, whether employed by the hotel or by a contractor providing services there. Separately, the city's Hotel Worker Protection Ordinance applies to all hotels in the city and gives workers the right to personal security devices and premium pay when workload assignments exceed set limits. Since December 1, 2025, covered hotels must also pay for at least five and a half hours of public housekeeping training for room attendants.
The city's Fair Work Week Ordinance covers retail businesses with 300 or more employees worldwide, counting workers employed through staffing agencies, subsidiaries and certain franchises. Covered employers must give a good faith estimate of a new worker's schedule before hiring, post schedules at least 14 calendar days in advance, offer extra hours to current qualified workers before hiring, and get written consent before scheduling a closing shift followed by an opening shift less than 10 hours later, which earns time and a half. Workers may not be required to find their own coverage when they miss a shift for a reason protected by law.
| Change | Predictability pay |
|---|---|
| Hours increased by more than 15 minutes | One hour at the regular rate |
| Change to the date, time or location | One hour at the regular rate for each change |
| Hours reduced by at least 15 minutes | Half the regular rate for the hours not worked |
| On-call shift with no call to work | Half the regular rate for the hours not worked |
The city's rules sit on top of state law. Our guides to specific problems, by topic:
Pay
Leave
Discrimination, harassment and retaliation
Leaving, deadlines and fees
The Minimum Wage Ordinance, in Los Angeles Municipal Code sections 187 and 188, applies to hours worked within the city's geographic boundaries. Work done in Glendale, Pasadena or an unincorporated area falls under different rules; our page on the employment lawyer in Glendale covers the city next door.
Section 188.04 protects employees from retaliation for exercising their right to the city's minimum wage, and section 187.06 does the same for paid sick leave. The Office of Wage Standards lists, as remedies in retaliation cases, reinstatement and three times the ordinary amounts.
The office lists an additional penalty of up to $120 to the employee and up to $50 to the city for each day a wage or sick leave violation occurred or continued. Under section 188.08, each day is a separate violation, and a repeat violation of the same provision within three years can raise the maximum administrative fine by 50 percent.
The city's Freelance Worker Protection Ordinance has applied since July 1, 2023 to contracts for services worth $600 or more. Since a state law took effect on January 1, 2025 for professional services contracts worth $250 or more, the office says it reviews complaints on newer contracts only when state law does not cover them.
The ordinance's definition of employer includes anyone who controls wages, hours or working conditions directly or through a temporary services or staffing agency. A homeowner who hires people to work on a property in the city may also count as an employer, as the office notes in its fire rebuild guidance.
For example, imagine a hypothetical sales associate at a downtown Los Angeles store owned by a national retailer with thousands of employees. Her schedule is often posted only a week ahead, her shifts are cut by two hours with a day's notice, and she is sometimes scheduled to close at 10 p.m. and open at 6 a.m. without being asked.
Several city rules may apply. Because the employer has more than 300 employees worldwide and she works more than two hours a week in the city, the Fair Work Week Ordinance requires 14 days' notice, predictability pay for late changes, and written consent for the close-then-open shift, which would earn time and a half. Before the Office of Wage Standards will take her complaint, she must send the employer written notice of the violations and wait 15 calendar days for a cure. Any unpaid state wages, such as overtime, would be a separate matter for the Labor Commissioner or a court. None of this tells her what she will recover; it tells her what to document and in what order to act.
Yes, for hours worked inside the city. The ordinance applies to any employee who performs at least two hours of work in a week within the city's boundaries, wherever the employer is based.
Call 1-844-WAGESLA (924-3752) or email [email protected]. The office is at 1149 S. Broadway, Suite 300, Los Angeles, CA 90015, and its hotline is monitored weekdays from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; for other languages, the office suggests calling 3-1-1.
No. The office says employees can file a complaint regardless of immigration status and that it will not ask about legal or immigration status or request supporting documents.
No. The city's ordinance covers hotels within the City of Los Angeles. Glendale has its own hotel wage, tied to the Los Angeles rate but without the health benefit payment.
In the Los Angeles Superior Court, which allows wrongful termination and other employment cases in the Central District or where the claim arose. Every class action goes to the Stanley Mosk Courthouse at 111 North Hill Street; our page on what to expect at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse explains the early deadlines.
With the Labor Commissioner's garment enforcement unit, which shares the Los Angeles office address at 320 W. Fourth Street, Suite 450. The Labor Commissioner says appointment options are available.
From our office in Glendale, we represent employees who work in the City of Los Angeles and nearby cities, and we check which city, county and state rules apply to each job site. Call (818) 244-9000 or request a consultation.
Our Glendale team can explain the city and state rules that apply to your job and help you act on them.
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