L.A.’s minimum wage to rise to $16.04 in July
“Berry said his restaurants already pay above $16 an hour to their 40 employees. Workers need the higher wages, he said, to cope with the region’s expensive housing costs.
And apart from any minimum wage ordinance, competition for labor is driving up wages in the city.
‘It’s what the market demands,’ he said. ‘If you’re in a high-demand area like the center of L.A., you’ve got to be competitive with your pay because people will just jump ship.'”