State and local governments in California have recently signed into law several measures aimed at protecting workers. At the state level, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order offering additional paid sick leave to food sector workers. At the local level, both the County and City of Los Angeles have now adopted worker retention and right of recall ordinances protecting the jobs of certain service sector workers. While the potential harm to workers resulting from COVID-19 remains great, these measures should provide some comfort to vulnerable workers at a time of financial insecurity. 

Food workers entitled to additional paid sick leave for reasons related to COVID-19

The statewide measure pertaining to food workers was signed into effect by Gov. Newsom on April 16, 2020. Executive Order N-51-20 points out that food service workers are far less likely to stay home from work when they’re sick if they do not have available paid sick leave. If workers feel they have no choice but to work while sick, there is a greater risk that the infection will spread to all coworkers.

The order addresses these concerns by mandating that employers of food service workers must offer supplemental paid sick leave related to COVID-19 to food service workers. Workers become eligible for this leave when: the worker has been ordered to quarantine or isolate by a federal, state, or local order; the worker is told by a healthcare worker to self-quarantine or self-isolate; or, the worker has been barred from working by their employer based on concerns of transmission of COVID-19. The amount of paid sick leave to which workers are entitled will vary based on the number of hours the employee worked. Workers considered to be “full-time” employees or who were scheduled to work an average of 40 hours per week for the two weeks prior to taking COVID-19-related leave will be entitled to 80 hours of COVID-19 supplemental sick leave. For those working fewer hours per week, the worker will be entitled to take the number of hours of paid leave across two weeks as they would have normally been scheduled to work in that time.

Los Angeles County workers now have a right to rehire and to be retained by new owners

Many laid-off workers fear that, due to the struggling economy, their positions may be filled by new and inexpensive workers rather than the experienced, possibly older, workers who held the position previously. After similar ordinances were signed into effect by City of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, the County of Los Angeles has now enacted two ordinances designed to assure laid-off workers in the service industry that they have a right to be rehired when businesses reopen. The City’s orders offer protections to those working at airports; as janitorial, maintenance, or security workers at commercial properties; and at large event centers, hotels, and hotel restaurants. The City’s orders go into effect on June 14, 2020. The County’s orders cover only those who work at commercial properties and hotels, and go into effect on May 12, 2020. Both measures offer workers a right to pursue legal action if they believe their rights have been violated under these ordinances.

The City’s Worker Retention ordinance and the County’s Right of Retention ordinance each mandate that, upon the sale of a business to a new owner, any laid-off employees of that business have a right to be kept on as an employee under the new ownership. The former owner must provide a preferential hiring list of the business’ employees to the new owner. The new owner must hire from that list for six months after the business is again open to the public. In order to be eligible for inclusion on this list, the worker must have worked for the business for at least six months, must have been primarily employed by that business, who is directly employed by or works for someone who has contracted with the former owner, and who worked for the former owner after March 4, 2020 and before the business was sold. These ordinances do not include managerial, supervisory, or confidential employees. Workers rehired by a new owner must be retained for at least 90 days unless the employer can show cause for firing the worker.

The City and County ordinances related to the Right of Recall state that workers laid off on or after March 4, 2020 must be prioritized when businesses begin to rehire workers. The worker must have performed at least two hours of work for that employer each week to be eligible, and have worked for the employer for at least six months prior to layoff. Workers are entitled to an offer for open positions with their former employer if they held the same position previously, or if they could become qualified for the position after completing the same amount of training that a new worker would need. If two workers are eligible for the same position, employers must offer the more senior employee first right of refusal.

About the Author: Kurt R. Mattson is the President of Union Legal Research. He has spent more than 30 years in the legal services industry as a research attorney, writer, editor, and marketer.