The Soboba Casino Resort has been able to recruit and retain successful employees since it first opened its doors in 2019 even amid the mandatory shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. A recent shortage of workers at all types of businesses throughout the country led SCR management to make the decision to raise its minimum wage to $17 for its hourly employees.
The signs and banners are dotted along suburban commercial strips and hanging in shop windows and restaurants, evidence of a new desperation among America's service-industry employers: “Now Hiring, $15 an hour.”