SANTA MONICA—Located in Santa Monica is the luxury hotel, the Santa Monica Proper Hotel, which is the subject of a class action lawsuit charging that the hotel violated the Santa Monica Hotel Workers Living Wage Ordinance. Passed in 2016, the ordinance mandated that, starting July 1, 2025, all hotels in Santa Monica must pay their employees $21.01 per hour.
The lawsuit was filed against the Santa Monica Proper Hotel this week, and the plaintiffs, Chelsea Kupitz and Eric Block, are servers who have worked at the Santa Monica Proper Hotel since 2019. They filed the lawsuit in L.A. County Superior Court on behalf of 100 workers at the hotel. As part of this lawsuit, they are claiming that the hotel not only pays its workers less than the city-mandated minimum wage for hotel workers but also that the hotel pays its workers an hourly rate that is less than the amount it charges customers for meals at the hotel’s restaurant.
Chelsea Kupitz and Eric Block are seeking a jury trial as well as back pay for themselves and the workers. Furthermore, they desire that the Santa Monica Proper Hotel pay penalties for violations of the California Labor Code and that the hotel pay $100 per day until it complies with the Santa Monica Hotel Worker Living Wage Ordinance. Additionally, they request that the hotel display its minimum wage rates. Finally, they want an independent party to monitor the hotel’s payroll for the next two to three years to ensure compliance.
By Daniel Diquinzio