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CC RES 2019-026 RESOLUTION NO. 2019-26 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIFORNIA, REQUESTING THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES TO CONSOLIDATE A GENERAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION TO BE HELD ON NOVEMBER 5, 2019, WITH THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES GENERAL ELECTION TO BE HELD ON THE DATE PURSUANT TO ELECTIONS CODE § 10403. WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes called a General Municipal Election to be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2019, for the purpose of the election of three (3) Members of the City Council of said City for the full term of three years; and WHEREAS, the City Council is submitting to the Rancho Palos Verdes voters a proposed City Ordinance relating to hotel workplace requirements and restrictions; and WHEREAS, it is desirable that the General Municipal Election be consolidated with the Los Angeles County General Election to be held on the same date and that within the city the precincts, polling places and election officers of the two elections be the same, and that the county election department of the County of Los Angeles canvass the returns of the General Municipal Election and that the election be held in all respects as if there were only one election. NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIFORNIA, DOES RESOLVE, DECLARE, DETERMINE AND ORDER AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. That pursuant to the requirements of Elections Code § 10403, the Board of Supervisors of the County of Los Angeles is hereby requested to consent and agree to the consolidation of the Rancho Palos Verdes General Municipal Election with the County of Los Angeles General Election on Tuesday, November 5, 2019, for the purpose of the election of three (3) Members of the City Council of said City for the full term of three years. SECTION 2. That a measure is to appear on the ballot as follows: Shall the measure, known as the HOSPITALITY WORKING CONDITIONS ORDINANCE, placed on the ballot by initiative petition, applicable to YES large hotels, golf courses and amusement parks, and which enacts a wage floor of $15/hour (CPI adjustments), limits daily work hours, limits daily square footage of rooms cleaned, requires panic- buttons for employees, requires maintenance of detailed compliance records, prohibits employer NO retaliation against employees, requires employee notices, and imposes fines and attorneys'fees for violation, be adopted? Resolution No. 2019-26 Page 1 of 2 SECTION 3. That the full text of the proposed initiative Ordinance to be submitted to the voters is set forth in Exhibit"A", attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference as if set forth in full. SECTION 4. That the vote requirement for the measure to pass is a majority (50%+1) of the votes. SECTION 5. That the county election department is authorized to canvass the returns of the General Municipal Election. The election shall be held in all respects as if there were only one election, and only one form of ballot shall be used. The election shall be held and conducted as provided by law for holding municipal elections. SECTION 6. That the Board of Supervisors is requested to issue instructions to the Los Angeles County election department to take any and all steps necessary for the holding of the consolidated election for the City of Rancho Palos Verdes. SECTION 7. That the City of Rancho Palos Verdes recognizes that additional costs will be incurred by the County of Los Angeles by reason of this consolidation and agrees to reimburse the County of Los Angeles for any such costs. SECTION 8. That the City Clerk is hereby directed to file a certified copy of this resolution with the Board of Supervisors and the county election department of the County of Los Angeles. SECTION 9. That the City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of this resolution and enter it into the book of original resolutions. PASSED, APPROVED, and ADOPTED this 18th day of Ju, 2019. ayor ATTEST: City Jerk State of California ) County of Los Angeles ) ss City of Rancho Palos Verdes ) I, Emily Colborn, City Clerk of The City of Rancho Palos Verdes, hereby certify that the above Resolution No. 2019-26 was duly and regularly passed and adopted by the said City Council at a regular meeting thereof held on June 18, 2019. C?</i)j`'' City Cle'rl:� Resolution No. 2019-26 Page 2 of 2 I:: (., I:: v .A TY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDE The People of the Rancho Palos Verdes do hereby ordain: Section 1. A new Chapter 5.40, entitled "Hospitality Working Conditions,"i of Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code, as follows: 5.40.010 -Definitions. FEB 2 'l 2018 "Additional-bed rooms" means a room with additional beds such as cots or rollaways. "Amusement park" means any grounds or enclosure wherein concessions and adult rides of a permanent nature and having a fixed location are situated. "Checkout" means a room where the guests are ending their stay. "Emergency" means an immediate threat to public safety or of substantial risk of property loss or destruction. "Food server" means a person whose principal duties are to serve or deliver food or beverages to guests, regardless of who employs the person. "Golf course" means any large, landscaped area having a series of holes spaced considerably apart designed for the playing of the game of golf. For the purpose of this Chapter, a golf course does not include a driving range, a miniature golf course, or a property whose principal owner or operator is a government entity. "Guest" means a patron of a hotel, golf course, or amusement park, as defined herein, including without limitation, registered guests and visitors invited by registered guests. "Guest room" means a room made available by a hotel for transient occupancy. "Hotel" means a facility that is designated or used for lodging and other related services for the public, and containing 50 or more guest rooms, or suites of rooms (adjoining rooms do not constitute a suite of rooms). "Hotel" also includes any contracted, leased or sublet premises connected to or oper ated in conjunction with the facility's purpose , or providing services at the facility. "Large hospitality employer'' means a person who owns, controls, and/or operates a hotel, golf cour~e, or amusement park in the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, and employs or exercises control over the wages, hours, or working conditions of 50 or more employees at such hotel, golf course, or amusement park, directly or through an agent or any other person, including through the services of a temporary service or staffing agency or similar entity. The term "large hospitality employer" also includes any contracted, leased or sublet prem ises connected to or operated in conjunction with such hotel 's, golf course's, o r amusement park's purpose, or a person, other than a hospitality employee, who provides services at such hotel , golf course, or amusement park in conjunction with the hotel's, golf course's, or amusement park's purpose . "Hospitality employee" means any individual who (1) is employed b y a large hospitality employer; and (2) was hired to or did work an average 5 hours/week for 4 weeks at one or more hotels, golf courses, or amusement parks. If' Resolution No. 2019-26 Exhibit A Page 1 of 7 "Panic button" means an emergency electronic contact device carried by a hospitality employee which allows him or her in the event of an ongoing crime, threat, or other emergency to alert a security guard responsible for providing immediate on-scene assistance. "Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability company, business trust, estate, trust, association, joint venture, agency, instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity, whether domestic or foreign . "Ridesharing service" means a dynamic, on -demand, fee-based service that supports real-time ridesharing or carpooling through short-term arrangements enabled by GPS , wireless service, or other technologies. "Room cleaner" means a person whose principal duties are to clean and put in order residential guest rooms in a hotel, regardless of who employs the person. "Transit Pass" means any pass, token, fare card, voucher or similar item entitling a person to transportation on public transit within the meaning of 26 U.S.C. § 132(f)(5)(A), as the federal law may be amended from time to time, including but not limited to , travel by bus, light rail or train. "Vanpool" means a "commuter highway vehicle" within the meaning of 26 U .S.C. § 132(f)(5)(B), as the federal law may be amended from time to time, which currently means any highway vehicle: (A) the seating capacity of which is at least 6 adults (not including the driver), and (B) at least 80% of the mileage use o f which can reasonably be expected to be (i) for the purpose of transporting employees in connection with travel between their residences and their place of employment; and (ii) on trips during which the number of employees transported for such p urposes is at least 1/2 of the seating capacity of such vehicle (not including the driver). "Workday" means a 24-hour period beginning at 12:00 a.m. and ending at 11 :59 p .m . 5.40.020 -Measures to protect hospitality employees from threatening behavior. A. Purpose . Hospitality employees who work by themselves in guest rooms, restrooms, or in isolated locations are vulnerable to crimes and other threatening behavior, including sexual assault. This Section enables hospitality employees to protect their safety by, among other measures, requiring that large hospitality employers provide workers with panic buttons which they may use to report threatening conduct or other emergencies. Many instances of sexual assault go unreported to the police. This Section also includes provisions that support employees' ability to report criminal and threatening behavior to the proper authorities. B . A large hospitality employer shall provide to each hospitality employee who works as a room cleaner, food server, or any other hosp itality employee who so requests, at no cost to the hospitality employee, a panic button. 2 Resolution No. 2019-26 Exhibit A Page 2 of 7 (1) If a hospitality employee encounters a situation necessitating his or her use of the panic button as described above, the hospitality employee may cease working and remove him/herself from the situation to await the arrival of the security guard responsible for providing immediate assistance . No hospitality employee may be disciplined for ceasing work under the se circumstances . (2) No hospitality employee may be discip lined for use of a panic button absent clear and convincing evidence the hospitality emp loyee knowingly and intentionally made a false claim of emergency. C. A hospitality employee who brings. to the attention of a large hospitality employer the occurrence of violence or threatening behavior, including but not limited to indecent exposure, solicitation, assault, or coercive sexual conduct by a guest or other person shall be afforded the following rights. (1) The large hospitality employer shall immediately allow the affected hospitality employee sufficient paid time to contact the police and provide a police statement and to consult with a counselor or advisor of the hospitality employee's choosing; the large hospitality employer will permit, but may never require, the complaining hospitality employee to report an incident involving alleged criminal conduct to the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction ; and (2) The large hospitality employer shall cooperate with any investigation into the incident undertaken by the law enforcement agency and /or any attorney for the complaining hospitality employee . D. Each large hospitality employer sh all p lace a sign on the back of the entrance door of each public restroom and, where app licable, on the back of each entrance door of a guest room , written in a font size of no less than 18 points, that includes the heading "The Law Protects Hospitality Employees From Threatening Behavior," a citation to this Chapter of the Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code, and notice of the fact that the large hospitality employer is providing panic buttons to employees . 5.40.030-Large H ospitality E mployer M inimum W age A. On and after January 1, 2019, large hospitality employers shall pay a wage of no less than Fifteen Dollars per hour, which shall increase by One Dollar per hour on each January 1 thereafter through January 1, 2022 . B . On January 1, 2023 , and annually thereafter, the minimum wage will increase annually to reflect increases in the cost of living . The cost ofliving increase shall be the greater of (1) two percent (2 %) or (2) the percentage increase as of September 30, 2022 , and as of September 30 in any subsequent year for further annual adjustments, over the level as of September 30 of the preceding year of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI- W) for the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area (Los Ange les-Riverside-Orange County, CA), which is published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U .S . Department of Labor or the successor index or federal agency. The C ity Manager shall publish a bulletin by November 1 of each year announcing the adjusted rates, which shall take effect the following January 1. Such bulletin will be made available to all Employers and to any other person who has filed with the City Manager 3 Resolution No. 2019-26 Exhibit A Page 3 of 7 a request to receive such notice, but lack of notice shall not excuse noncompliance with this Section . The City Manager shall prescribe a poster advising Employees of their rights under this article and distribute it to all Employers. An Employer shall post the notice in a prominent place where it will be seen by Emp loyees . An Employer shall provide written notification of the rate adjustments to each of its Employees and make the necessary payroll adjustments by January I following the publication of the bulletin. 5.40.04 0 - H uman e w orkload. A. Purpose. Hospitality employees who clean guest rooms are frequently assigned overly burdensome room cleaning quotas and unexpected overtime, which undermines the public interest in ensuring that room cleaners can perfonn their work in a manner that adequately protects public health and interferes with their ability to meet family and personal obligations . This provision assures that workers receive fair compensation when their workload assignments exceed proscribed limits and prohibits hospitality employers from assigning employees overtime work when their shifts exceed 10 hours in a day, except in emergency situations , without obtaining workers' informed consent. B. A large hospitality employer that owns, controls, and/or operates a hotel shall not require a room cleaner to clean rooms amounting to more than 4 ,000 square feet of floorspace, or more than the maximum floor space otherwise specified in this Section, in any one, eight-hour workday unless the large hospitality employer pays the room cleaner twice his or her regular rate of pay for all hours worked by the room cleaner during the workday . If a room cleaner works fewer than eight hours in a workday, the maximum floor space shall be reduced on a prorated basis . When a room cleaner during a workday is assigned to clean any combination of seven or more checkout rooms or additional-bed rooms, the maximum floorspace to be cleaned shall be reduced by 500 square feet for each such checkout or additional-bed room over six . The limitations contained herein apply to any combination of spaces, including guest rooms and suites , meeting rooms or hospitality rooms , and apply regardless of the furniture , equipment or amenities in any rooms . C. A large hospitality employer shall not suffer or permit a hospitality employee to work more than 10 hours in any workday unless t he hospitality employee consents. Consents must be written and signed by the hospitality employee or communicated electronically through an account or number particular to the hospitality employee . No consent is valid unless the large hospitality employer has advised the hospitality employee in writing not more than 30 days preceding the consent that the hospitality employee may decline to work more than 10 hours in any workday and that the hospitality emp loyer will not subject the hospitality employee to any adverse action for declining. An assignment in excess of 10 hours in a workday due to an emergency shall not violate this Section. 5.4 0 .0 5 0 - Sup p ort for A lte rnative Tran sportati o n As to each hospitality employee, a large hospitality employer shall take one of the following actions: 4 Resolution No. 2019-26 Exhibit A Page 4 of 7 (1) Offer to the hospitality employee each month a transit pass for the public transit system requested by the hospitality employee or credit toward vanpool or ridesharing service charges at least equal in value to the purchase price of the monthly transit pass, which shall at a minimum be equal to the cost of a non-discounted adult Los Angeles Metro Pass enabling u s e at no additional charge of all Metro services and which may be used by the hospitality employee for the purpose of commuting to and from work for the large hospitality employer. (2) Offer the hospitality employee transportation from the hospitality employee's residence to and from the large hospitality employer's worksite at no cost to the hospitality employee in a vanpool or bus, or similar multi-passenger vehicle operated by or for the large hospitality employer. 5.40.060 Preservation of records. A. Each large hospitality employer shall maintain for at least three (3) years: (1) for each hospitality employee, a record of his or her name, hours worked, pay rate, and proof of offer to provide a transit pass, credit toward vanpool or ridesharing service, or direct transportation consistent with Section 5.40.050; and (2) a record of the written consents it received from hospitality employees to work more than ten hours during a shift consistent with Section 5.40.040(C). B. Each large hospitality employer that owns, controls, and/or operates a hotel shall additionally maintain for at least three (3) years for each room cleaner a record of his or her name, pay rates received, and the rooms (or at the large hospitality employer's option, total amount of square footage) each room cleaner has cleaned on each workday. C . The large hospitality employer shall make the records specified in Subsections A and B of this Section available to employees of the large hospitality employer or their representativ e s for inspection and copying except the hospitality employees ' names (and any addresses and social security numbers) shall be redacted unless the requester is a hospitality employee requesting records concerning herself. Failure of the large hospitality employ er to provide a copy of such records will result in a penalty of at least one hundred dollars ($100.00) per day up to one thousand dollars ($1 ,000.00) per day, the amount to be set b y the court. 5.40.070 -No retaliation. No person shall discharge, reduce in compensation, increase workload, impose fees or charges, change duties or otherwise take adverse action against any hospitality employee for opposing any practice proscribed by this Chapter, for participating in proceedings related to this Chapter, for seeking to enforce his or her rights under this article b y any lawful means, or for otherwise asserting rights under this Chapter. A person terminating or taking any other adverse action against any hospitality employee who has engaged in any of the foregoing activities within one year preceding the termination or other adverse action shall provide to the hospitality employee at or before the time of the termination or other adverse action a detailed written statement of the reason or reasons for the termination or other adverse action including all the facts substantiating the reason or reasons and all facts known to the person that contradict the substantiating facts. 5 Resolution No. 2019-26 Exhibit A Page 5 of 7 5.40.080 -Waiver. The provisions of this Chapter may not be waived by agreement between an individual hospitality employee and a large hospitality employer. All of the provisions of Section 5 .40.030 or Section 5.40.040, or any part thereof, may be waived in a bona fide collective bargaining agreement but only if the waiver is explicitly set forth in such agreement in clear and unambiguous terms . Unilateral implementat ion of terms and conditions of employment by either party to a collective bargaining relationship shall not constitute, or be permitted , as a waiver of all or any part of the provisions of this Chapter. 5.40.090 -Enforcement. A. A hospitality employee or representative of hospitality employees claiming violation of this Chapter may bring an action in the Superior Court and shall be entitled to all remedies available under the law or in equity appropriate to remedy any such violation , including but not limited to injunctive relief or other equitable relief, including reinstatement, and compensatory damages and other relief provided in this subsection. In addition to any other remedy to which a hospitality employee is entitled under this Chapter, a large hospitality employer that violates Section 5.40.030 shall be liable to each affected hospitality employee for statutory damages in the amount of fifty dollars ($50) for each day on which a violation occurred; and a large hospitality employer that violates Section 5.40 .040 shall be liable to each affected hospitality employee for statutory damages in the amount of fifty dollars ($50) for each day on which a violation occurred . In the event of a willful violation of Section 5.40.070, the amount of damages attributable to lost income due to the violation shall be trebled. If a hospitality employee is the prevailing party in any legal action taken pursuant to this Chapter, the court shall award reasonable attorney's fees and costs as part of the costs recoverable. B . Each hospitality employer shall give written notification to each current hospitality employee, and to each new hospitality employee at time of hire, of his or her rights under this Chapter. The notification shall be in each language spoken by more than ten (10) hospitality employees . C. A large hospitality employer that contracts with another person, including, without limitation, another large hospitality employer, a temporary staffing agency, employee leasing agency or professional employer organization, to obtain the services of hospitality employees shall share all civil legal responsibility and civil liability for violations of this Chapter by that person for hospitality employees performing work pursuant to the contract. For the purposes of this subsection, the term "person" shall not include : (1) A bona fide nonprofit, community-based organization that provides services to workers; (2) A bona fide labor organization or apprenticeship program or hiring hall operated pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement. 5.40.100 -Severability. If any provision or application of this Chapter is declared illegal, invalid or inoperative, in whole or in part, by any court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions and portions thereof 6 Resolution No. 2019-26 Exhibit A Page 6 of 7 shall remain in full force or effect. The courts are hereby authorized to reform the provisions of this Chapter in order to preserve its maximum permissible effect. 5.40.110 -No Preemption of Higher Standards. This Chapter does not preempt or prevent the establishment of superior standards or the expansion of coverage by ordinance, resolution, contract, or any other action of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes . This Chapter shall not be construed to limit a discharged hospitality employee's right to bring a common law cause of action for wrongful termination. 5.40.120 -Regulations. The City shall have authority to adopt rules and regulations consistent with and necessary for the implementation of this Chapter. Such rules and regulations shall have the force and effect of law , and may be relied upon by large hospitality employers, hospitality employ ees and other parties to determine their rights and respons ibilities under this Chapter. Section 2. Conflicting Measures. Consistent with California Elections Code § 9221 , should another ordinance containing provisions that conflict w ith this ordinance be adopted by voters at the same election as thi s ordinance is adopted, the terms of the ordinance that receives the higher number of affinnative votes shall control. Section 3. Effective Date. The proposed ordinance that is the subject of this initiative, once approved by the voters at the Nov ember 6, 2018 election, or such other election as authorized by law, shall be deemed adopted upon the date that the vote is declar ed by the City Council, and shall go into effect 10 day s after that date . 7 Resolution No. 2019-26 Exhibit A Page 7 of 7