Long Beach passed a $4-per-hour grocery worker hazard premium in 2021 during the pandemic. The ordinance was time-limited, faced litigation, and is no longer in effect citywide.
In January 2021 the Long Beach City Council adopted Ordinance ORD-21-0001 requiring large grocery chains to pay a $4-per-hour hazard premium for 120 days during the COVID-19 emergency. The California Grocers Association sued, but the ordinance was upheld in federal court. The premium expired by its own terms in mid-2021. Long Beach has not reenacted a grocery-worker wage floor, and the city now relies on the statewide $16.50 minimum wage. The ordinance influenced state-level proposals such as SB 723, although that bill addressed re-hire rights rather than hazard pay.
While in effect, civil penalties, back wages, attorney fees, and a private right of action attached. The ordinance lapsed at the 120-day sunset and is not currently enforced.
Long Beach, CA
Measure WW, passed by Long Beach voters in 2018, requires hotels with 50+ rooms to provide panic buttons, daily room-cleaning workload caps, and worker-reten...
Long Beach, CA
Long Beach follows the California statewide minimum wage of $16.50 per hour for most employers, indexed annually to inflation. The city has no general citywi...
See how other cities in Los Angeles County handle grocery worker wage.
See how Long Beach's grocery worker wage rules stack up against other locations.
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