LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A $15 minimum wage went into effect for small businesses in Los Angeles July 1after being gradually phased in for businesses since being approved in 2015. The law was approved on a 14-1 vote by the City Council on May 14, 2015, and the minimum wage increase from $9 to $15 took place gradually over a five-year period. Last year, the law went into effect for large businesses, but smaller businesses had until today to begin giving workers a minimum of $15 per hour. “We can do right for our workers and do right for our businesses. We don’t just tell businesses you got to up wages to $15 an hour, we’re doing everything we can to help them,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said, citing the city’s grants to businesses struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Al Fresco outdoor dining program that the city is working to make …