State regulators have fined the upscale Terranea Resort nearly $3.3 million for failing to offer jobs to 53 workers who were laid off during the pandemic downturn once business picked up again in 2021.

The California Labor Commissioner’s Office issued the citation Wednesday, March 2, saying the Rancho Palos Verdes business violated Senate Bill 93, the state’s “right to recall” law.

Signed into law last year, the bill requires hotels, event centers and other hospitality businesses to offer employees who were laid off during the pandemic the opportunity to return to positions for which they are qualified in order of seniority. To be eligible, an employee must have worked for their employer for six months or more in the 12 months preceding Jan. 1, 2020.

“The law makes it clear that workers in the hospitality and services industries must be prioritized to return to the same or similar positions when their former employer reopens for business,” Labor Commissioner Lilia García-Brower said in a statement.

In a statement issued Thursday, Terranea said all but four of the 53 workers have been re-hired and those who weren’t were still offered jobs. The resort didn’t say how quickly employees were called back once business improved, however.

“We strongly disagree with the labor commissioner’s citation, which is not a finding of fact,” Terranea said. “We are exploring all of our legal options.”

The employees claim they weren’t offered the opportunity to return to their jobs based on...

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