Action Alert: Right of Recall and Citywide Worker Retention Ordinance
April 28, 2020 3:00 pm
Background:
The Los Angeles City Council will be adopting ordinances related to Right of Recall as well as Citywide Worker Retention that would apply to workers at the airport, in the hospitality industry and those who provide services to commercial properties TOMORROW at 10 a.m.
Right of Recall Ordinance
Establishes rebuttable presumption if the employee is laid off due to COVID-19.
If laid off, employment must be offered to previous employees based on seniority and wait five days to hear back from each employee.
This measure is permanent and does NOT have a sunset date.
View the full ordinance here.
Citywide Worker Retention Ordinance
Requires rehiring of employees laid off due to COVID-19 based on seniority after a change of ownership.
Requires rehiring and training of employees of the incumbent owner following change of ownership.
This measure is permanent and does NOT have a sunset date.
View the full ordinance here.
Who Is Taking Action?
The Los Angeles City Council will vote on adopting these ordinances during their City Council meeting on Wednesday, April 29 at 10 a.m. View the meeting here. Please provide comments here.
Why Should I Care?
These new ordinances will have detrimental impact to the industries subject to this new regulation. Many of these businesses will reopen and face a new economy and an unknown manner of how they will operate. Businesses have an uncertain future and these types of regulations constrain their ability to operate. Businesses, now more than ever, need their flexibility to remain open.
What Can I Do To Help?
Call your Los Angeles City Councilmembers today and let them know how detrimental this will be to the industries impacted. We are trying to rebuild the Los Angeles economy and should be incentivizing businesses to stay open instead of putting new regulations that will take that chance away.
What Should I Say?
- Since the Mayor and the Governor directed Stay at Home Orders, some businesses are completely shut down. Businesses are not generating the level of revenues pre-COVID-19. The Chamber has been inundated with requests from businesses desperately seeking for relief and support.
- These businesses are trying desperately to survive in this new COVID-19 environment. We would like to partner with the Council to provide relief for the business community. These types of regulations only constrain businesses by not providing the level of flexibility that they require during this pandemic.
- We need to remove the rebuttable presumption clause from these ordinances because this will cause tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of legal fees for businesses, regardless of the merit of the lawsuit.
- The City Attorney clearly states that in order to adopt a PERMANENT ordinance for Right of Recall or Citywide Worker Retention there must be significant outreach to stakeholders and a rigorous economic analysis must be completed. The lack of outreach and analysis calls into question the lawfulness of such ordinances. We recommend consistency with other COVID-19 related ordinances and ask for a sunset date no later than December 2020.
Contact Information
Councilmember Cedillo
[email protected], 213.473.7001
Councilmember Krekorian
[email protected], 213.473.7002
Councilmember Blumenfield
[email protected], 213.473.7003
Councilmember Ryu
[email protected], 213.473.7004
Councilmember Koretz
[email protected], 213.473.7005
Council President Martinez
[email protected], 213.437.7006
Councilmember Rodriguez
[email protected], 213.473.7007
Councilmember Harris-Dawson
[email protected], 213.473.7008
Councilmember Price
[email protected], 213.473.7009
Councilmember Wesson
[email protected], 213.473.7010
Councilmember Bonin
[email protected], 213.473.7011
Councilmember Lee
[email protected], 213.473.7012
Councilmember O’Farrell
[email protected], 213.473.7013
Councilmember Huizar
[email protected], 213.473.7014
Councilmember Buscaino
[email protected], 213.473.7015