A
third
city
in
Los
Angeles
County
has
increased
minimum
wages
to
$25
per
hour
for
certain
private
healthcare
workers,
stirring
controversy
about
the
impact
on
healthcare
workers
at
public
hospitals.
On
Monday,
the
city
council
of
Monterey
Park,
about
seven
miles
from
downtown
Los
Angeles,
voted
in
favor
of
a
$25
minimum
wage
for
healthcare
workers
in
the
city,
just
two
weeks
after
the
city
of
Downey
did
the
same.
The
wave
of
wage
increases
follows
the
lead
of
Los
Angeles
Mayor
Eric
Garcetti
who
signed
an
ordinance
on
July
8
establishing
a
$25
minimum
hourly
wage
for
workers
at
eligible
privately
owned
healthcare
facilities.
Though
the
wage
increase
is
a
win
for
some,
questions
remain
about
where
the
money
will
come
from.
“They’re
gonna
have
to
cut
costs
and
services,”
said
Erin
J.
McLaughlin,
attorney
and
shareholder
for
Buchanan
Ingersoll
&
Rooney’s
healthcare
practice,
specializing
in
labor
and
employment.
“And
I
think
it’s
going
to
really
put
an
additional
strain
on
what
is
an
already
strained
industry
so
then
the
question
becomes,
‘can
a
patient
receive
adequate
care
based
on
where
they’re
located?’”
The
coalition,
“No
on
the
Los
Angeles
Equal
Pay
Measure,”
is
a
group
of
hospitals
and
healthcare
workers
opposing
the
wage
increase.
The
group
estimates
that
the
ordinance
excludes
90%
of
healthcare
workers.
According
to
McLaughlin,
this
disparity
will
lead
to
an
even
greater
workforce
shortage.
“If
you’re
guaranteed
a
higher
minimum
wage
at
a
private
facility,
you’re
going
to
see
those
workers
go
seek
jobs
at
private
facilities
and
we’re
going
to
have
what
is
even
more
dreadful
of
a
situation
in
terms
of
the
labor
shortage
at
the
federally
qualified
health
centers,”
McLaughlin
said.
The
healthcare
community
is
divided
by
the
wage
increases,
with
some
groups
such
as
the
SEIU-United
Healthcare
Workers
West,
a
labor
union,
lauding
the
pay
hikes.
“The
pandemic
has
worsened
staffing
shortages
in
local
hospitals
and
many
workers
have
left
the
industry
due
to
chronic
stress,
burnout,
and
low
pay,”
said
Dave
Regan,
president
of
SEIU-United
Healthcare
Workers
West
in
a
news
release.
“We
commend
the
Monterey
Park
City
Council
for
voting
to
protect
public
health
for
residents
and
addressing
a
staffing
shortage
that
threatens
patient
care.
By
ensuring
healthcare
workers
earn
a
fair
wage
that
reflects
their
vital
work,
Monterey
Park
can
retain
and
attract
the
workers
needed
to
ensure
the
quality
of
healthcare
doesn’t
decline
in
the
city.”
The
union
collected
the
required
number
of
signatures
to
put
the
minimum
wage
increase
on
each
of
the
ballots
where
votes
have
taken
place
so
far.
Opponents
say
unequal
wages
will
worsen
the
already
dire
healthcare
worker
shortage
because
the
wage
increase
only
affects
a
small
number
of
hospitals.
“We
all
agree
that
healthcare
workers
are
heroes
—
but
these
unequal
pay
measures
are
inequitable
for
workers,
harmful
and
costly
for
patients,
and
risky
for
our
communities,”
George
Greene,
the
president
of
the
Hospital
Association
of
California
said,
after
the
vote
in
LA.
The
concern
is
whether,
or
when,
healthcare
workers
at
public
healthcare
systems
will
quit
since
they
aren’t
receiving
a
pay
increase.
Healthcare
providers
filed
a
lawsuit
on
July
14,
claiming
Mayor
Garcetti’s
ordinance
violates
the
equal
protection
and
due
process
clauses
of
the
U.S.
and
California
constitutions
that
say
a
law
must
treat
similarly
situated
persons
the
same.
“The
hastily
approved
ordinance
is
unequal
and
unfair.
It
excludes
workers
at
90%
of
healthcare
facilities
in
the
City
of
Los
Angeles
for
no
apparent
reason,”
Greene
said.
“It
discriminates
against
healthcare
workers
and
providers
alike,
and
we
are
asking
the
courts
to
overturn
it.”
California
isn’t
the
only
state
grappling
with
how
to
compensate
healthcare
workers.
In
Ohio
last
week,
Adena
Health
System
announced
it
would
raise
its
caregiver
wages
to
$15
per
hour.
The
increased
minimum
wage
will
impact
14%
of
Adena’s
workers,
who
will
see
their
hourly
pay
increase
in
a
phased
rollout
plan
beginning
in
September.
Photo:
FG
Trade,
Getty
Images