LA County Code Title 8.105, adopted as Ordinance 2014-0024, requires successor hotel employers in unincorporated areas with 50 or more rooms to retain incumbent non-managerial workers for a 90-day transition and evaluate them in good faith before terminations.
Codified in LA County Code Title 8.105 in 2014, the Hotel Worker Living Wage and Retention Ordinance covers hotels with 50 or more guest rooms in unincorporated LA County, including Marina del Rey resorts and the unincorporated edge of Universal City. When ownership, operation, franchise, or controlling interest changes, the successor must hire from a preferential list of incumbent workers, retain them at the same wage and benefit level for at least 90 calendar days, and may discharge during the transition only for cause. After the period, written performance evaluations determine continued employment. The Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA) Wage Enforcement Bureau investigates complaints and issues citations.
Failure to honor the 90-day retention period triggers back pay, reinstatement, civil penalties under DCBA enforcement, a private right of action by displaced workers, and attorneys' fees under LA County Code Title 8.105.
See how Santa Monica's hotel worker retention rules stack up against other locations.
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