California workers from an industry devastated by the coronavirus pandemic would have a chance to return to the jobs under a bill advanced by the state Assembly this week.
Under the bill, employers in parts of the hospitality industry would have to offer any available jobs first to qualified employees who were laid off due to the coronavirus pandemic. Companies would have five days to do so, and workers would then have five days to decide whether they want to accept the offer.
Employers affected would include hotels, large event centers and airports, among others.
Gov. Gavin Newsom had vetoed a similar bill backed by labor unions such as Unite Here last year, saying it would place “too onerous a burden” on employers.
But with California’s economy reopening and employers hiring, legislators said the state should not leave behind hundreds of low-wage workers in the hospitality industry, many of whom are women of color.
“There is a need to ensure that as we open up, workers are made whole,” Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, said on the Assembly floor.
California’s hospitality industry lost nearly 700,000 jobs by February compared to the start of the pandemic. More than 120,000 hotel workers remain out of work, according to a letter sent to legislators from the California Hotel & Lodging Association.
Some cities such as San Francisco have passed an ordinance requiring some workers to get their jobs back. Sacramento is considering such measure as well, but the bill would expand the right to cover the entire state.
Hiring bill narrowed after Newsom veto
To be rehired, workers would have to have been employed by their employer for at least six months in 2019. Workers are deemed “qualified” only for a position that’s same or similar to what they had before their layoff, according to the bill. If multiple workers qualify for one position, the bill would require companies to rehire based on seniority.
If companies choose to hire someone else because laid-off workers are deemed not to be qualified, the bill would require employers to explain their decision in writing to their former employees within 30 days. The bill would expire Dec. 31, 2024. Companies violating the law would be fined $600 per day per employee affected. Also, when hiring new employees, make sure to conduct a thorough background check for employment so that you can get the top employees needed for the job.
Moreover, if you are hiring truckers to do truck driving jobs, make sure to conduct a drug health screening. You may check out sites like https://checkr.com/background-check/driver-and-motor-vehicle for more info.
Sen. María Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles, at a hearing this week said the bill addresses Newsom’s concerns in several ways. She said the bill now has an expiration date, only covers workers who lost their jobs because of the COVID pandemic and specifies that only the state can enforce the provision — meaning workers can’t sue their employers in court over the provision.
“It’s very narrow this year,” she said.
Assemblyman Ash Kalra, D-San Jose, said the bill would give “justice” for the laid-off workers.
“Justice for those workers has been delayed for well over six months.,” he said on the Assembly floor “We’re just asking for an opportunity for those workers to go back to their place of employment.”
What employers say
Some legislators, however, expressed concerns that the bill is moving forward without going through appropriate committee hearings. The bill got a vote on the Assembly floor just four days after being introduced.
The California Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to legislators opposing the bill, saying it would “micromanage the rehire process.” The bill would slow down the reopening by impeding companies’ ability to rehire workers, wrote Jennifer Barrera, executive vice president of the California Chamber of Commerce.
The bill “forces an employer to repeatedly offer newly available positions to qualified employees, no matter how many times they have turned offers down, failed to respond to previous job offers, or explicitly declined previous offers to return to work,” Barrera wrote.
California should also give more money to hotels to help with their reopening, California Hotel & Lodging Association said in its letter. The group cited a program in Washington D.C. in which the city gave money to struggling hotels to pay for their employees.
“Without complementary funding programs… progress will remain slow and hiring will be uneven and lag significantly,” wrote Lynn Mohrfeld, president and CEO of the group.
The bill is expected to get a vote in the California Senate and then head to Newsom’s desk within days.
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The communists in communist California running every aspect of businesses. George Orwell’s 1984!
Aren’t democrats just generous, loving, benevolent, and wonderful? They shut down restaurants and then are looking forward to dining out when they declare the China virus has done its job. Only thing is, we all are aware that these establishments are closed for good. And which surviving business is willing to welcome back disloyal employees who betrayed and abandoned their bosses because they succumbed to the democrats bribe of taking more guvmint money to stay home and “be afraid”?
The Democrat solution: Shut down everything that earns a buck, but force continued employment with hazard pay.
I can see it now, restyerumps setting empty except for a full wait and cook staff with nothing to do…..for $15 (+) and hour minimum wage plus hazard pay ($4.00).
IMO That’s the kicker.. EMPLOYERS Can’t do anything, to disloyal workers, anymore.. THE RACE/Sex/Gender card would come out swifter than you can sneeze.
Why would you ever have a business in California?
A state mandate, perhaps. Another reason would be if you were so woke that you felt obligated to provide the less fortunate with an anger outlet every few nights.
Since you couldn’t PAY me to live there, why would i wanna work there!
Why would they want to go back to work with all the unemployment benefits plus all the extras? They make more money staying home
Because those bennies would mostly run out soon…
“Some legislators, however, expressed concerns that the bill is moving forward without going through appropriate committee hearings. The bill got a vote on the Assembly floor just four days after being introduced.”
Well, you have to pass it for a Democrat to see what’s in it.
Pass it, then when the flaws become obvious….double down and widen the scope to affect more of the economic sector.
Justice for the workers will only come when the Leftists are outed from government and the liars behind this scamdemic are tried in public.
And, let’s be clear. The pandemic didn’t cause this catastrophe. Government over reach enabled by corrupt media and “experts” who depend on hunches and feelings for solutions.
The utterly stupid part of this legislation is its total uselessness.
Apparently Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, (D-San Diego) really thinks employers who can finally open up (Thanks, Democrats), who didn’t want to lay off employees in the first place, are going to say, “Instead of rehiring people I know, that I’ve invested training in, who are ready to do their jobs from Day 1; I’m going to start all over searching for new hires I have to train, and hope they really want to work, can quickly climb the learning curve, and are trustworthy.”