Over the past few years, cities and counties have gotten to the business of regulating the workplace, an area previously reserved to federal and state governments. Many local jurisdictions have focused particular attention on the hospitality industry, which often is one of the primary drivers of a local economy.1
At the start of the trend, local ordinances focused on pushing for “panic buttons” for housekeeping staff. More recently, the scope of local regulations has expanded to include limits on workload, the right to recall, and training. New local laws governing the hospitality industry are in effect in such locations as Washington State, Chicago, Illinois, Miami Beach, Florida, and Oakland, Los Angeles,2 West Hollywood, and Long Beach, California. We can now add Glendale, California to that list.
The City of Glendale was faced with a petition from citizens for a new initiative regulating the hospitality industry, for possible placement on the ballot in an upcoming election. Rather than allow the initiative to go to the voters, the city council chose to adopt the proposed petition in its entirety as a city ordinance. The new ordinance is called the Hotel Workers Protection Ordinance.
The Ordinance: creates a local minimum wage, limits mandatory overtime, establishes maximum square footage requirements for housekeepers, and requires “panic buttons” for workers assigned to clean rooms alone. The Ordinance further establishes remedies for hotel workers for violations of...
IBM reached a settlement with the federal government on Friday, agreeing to pay roughly $17 million to resolve allegations of illegal diversity, equity and inclusion practices. Acting Attorney Gen...