This California wage and hour Law Firm Publication by Jackson Lewis P.C. discusses a lawsuit filed on December 16, 2014 by the American Hotel & Lodging Association and the Asian American Hotel Owners Association to enjoin Los Angeles from implementing the Hotel Workers Act (the Act). The Act would raise the minimum wage for workers at large hotels in Los Angeles to $15.37 per hour (one of the highest minimum wage rates in the nation). Hotels with more than 300 rooms would be required to comply starting in July 2015 and hotels with 150 to 300 rooms would be required to comply starting in July 2016. The lawsuit alleges that non-union hotels could face unionization pressure because a provision of the Act provides an exemption allowing hotels covered by a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) to agree with the union to waive any part of the Act. The suit also alleges that by targeting one industry, the Act would violate federal and state equal protection clauses.