It’s been four years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but a law protecting the rights of California hospitality and building services workers laid off for pandemic-related reasons remains in force, through the end of 2025.
The “Right to Recall” law requires employers in these industries to offer job openings that are similar to ones held by workers laid off during the pandemic, based on company seniority. The law defines a “laid-off employee” as one who was employed by the employer for 6 months or more in the 12 months preceding January 1, 2020, and whose most recent separation from active service was due to a reason related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including a public health directive, government shutdown order, lack of business, a reduction in force, or other economic, nondisciplinary reason due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The California Labor Commissioner’s Office has been pursuing cases against companies who’ve violated this law. Last year, it cited the Hyatt Regency Long Beach $4.8 million for not offering 25 employees their jobs back, some of whom had two decades of experience.
The Labor Commissioner’s Office investigation started after it received complaints from Hyatt Regency Long Beach workers. The law allows for damages of $500 per worker for each day the employee’s rights are violated, and the hotel was cited for 8.983 aggregate days of violations. The entire amount of the $4,799,564 citation will be paid to the 25 affected employees.
Last year, the commissioner’s office reached a $1.5 million settlement with Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes after citing it for failing to offer job positions to 53 laid-off employees that included housepersons, banquet servers and bartenders, junior sous chefs and massage therapists. The commissioner’s office also cited an airport caterer for more than $1.2 million for failing to timely rehire 18 employees at its Los Angeles International Airport site and three employees at its San Francisco International Airport site who had been employed as station attendants, dishwashers, drivers, porters, equipment liquor set-up attendants, cooks and cook helpers.
“This law was intended to end the displacement of workers during the pandemic due to no fault of their own and that’s exactly what we are pursuing in this case,” said Labor Commissioner Lilia García-Brower. “Workers invested up to 10 years in this employer and the employer failed to rehire them pursuant to the law. We will continue to investigate until workers are made whole.”
The law was scheduled to expire at the end of 2024 but was extended by one year. If you’re an employee in one of these industries who was laid off in California as a result of the pandemic, you could be affected. Keller Grover has recovered millions in dollars for workers In more than 25 years litigating fraud and employment cases. If you have a question about how this law affects your rights, contact us today for a free, confidential consultation.