In previous study the authors showed laser surface melting (LSM) to increase yield strength of 304 austenitic stainless steels. A consistent increase approximately 10% was also observed in the hardness of the melted layer compared to that of the substrate. Austentic stainless steels do not transform to martensite during laser processing. The microstructure is observed to contain only austenite and some retained {delta}-ferrite due to rapid cooling. Therefore, the hardness increase observed was interpreted to be due to microstructural modifications, namely in the formation of austenite {delta}-ferrite duplex structure as well as a refinement in the subgrain structure. The alloy used in this study, type 304L, is a lower carbon modification of type 304 for welding applications. Lower carbon content minimizes carbide precipitation in the heat affected zone of welds. In an annealed condition type 304L has lower mechanical properties than type 304. This paper reports on this present study which was undertaken to verify if a material that possesses an initially high yield strength, type 304L, would exhibit a similar increase in its yield strength and the magnitude of this enhancement at different test temperatures (22, 100, 200 and 300{degrees}C).