Proponents of a ballot initiative asking voters to institute a $15 an hour minimum wage in Los Angeles received the go-ahead to begin collecting signatures, the City Clerk announced today.
The initiative proposes that most employers immediately raise the minimum wage for their employees to $15 an hour. Small businesses and nonprofits would have until Jan. 1, 2017, to raise their workers’ wages to $15 per hour, under the proposal.
The initiative’s proponents John Parker, Jose Medina, Maggie Vascessenno, Scott Scheffer and Essie Crosby, will be allowed to circulate their petition and gather signatures from registered voters to qualify the measure for the ballot.
City leaders are considering other minimum wage hike proposals. Mayor Eric Garcetti announced a plan on Labor Day to gradually raise Los Angeles’ minimum wage to $13.25 an hour by 2017.
Business leaders who oppose minimum wage hikes say it could lead employers to cut jobs, or drive businesses out of the city.
