LOS ANGELES – The nation's second largest city is the latest to join the movement to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, as the Los Angeles City Council voted this week to phase in the increase by 2020.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has been pushing for a hike and said he looks forward to signing the bill. "Today, help is on the way for the one million Angelenos who live in poverty," he said at a press conference.

The city currently has a minimum wage of $9 an hour, and estimates by the National Employment Project claim that the increased wage will help close to 40% of the city’s population. According to some estimates, almost half of the city’s workforce currently earns less than the planned $15 per hour.

The vote this past Tuesday directs the L.A. city attorney to formally draft legislation that will then go before the same council for a vote. The legislation, which would phase the $6 increase in over five years, will give businesses with fewer than 26 employees an extra year to phase in the wage hike.

The increase would make Los Angeles the third – and largest – city to institute a floor of $15 an hour, following Seattle and San Francisco.

If you are wondering what increases in the minimum wage could mean for your business, NACS has created an online Minimum Wage Labor Cost Calculator, available here.