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No Hotel Employer employing Hotel Workers shall discharge, reduce in compensation, or otherwise discriminate against any Hotel Worker for opposing any practice proscribed by this article, for participating in proceedings related to this article, for seeking to enforce the Hotel Worker’s rights under this article by any lawful means, or for otherwise asserting rights under this article.
A. Hotel Workers may bring an action in the Superior Court of the State of California against the Incumbent Hotel Employer or the Successor Hotel Employer for violations of this article and may be awarded:
1. Hiring and reinstatement rights pursuant to this article, with the 90-day transition employment period not commencing until the Hotel Worker’s Employment Commencement Date with the Successor Hotel Employer.
2. Front pay or back pay for each day during which the violation continues, which shall be calculated at a rate of compensation not less than the higher of:
a. The average regular rate of pay received by the Hotel Worker during the last three years of the Hotel Worker’s employment in the same occupation classification; or
b. The most recent regular rate received by the Hotel Worker while employed by either the Incumbent Hotel Employer or the Successor Hotel Employer.
3. Value of the benefits the Hotel Worker would have received under the Successor Hotel Employer’s benefit plan.
B. If a Hotel Worker is the prevailing party in any legal action taken pursuant to this section, the court shall award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs as part of the costs recoverable.
C. Notwithstanding any provision of this Code or any other ordinance to the contrary, no criminal penalties shall attach for violation of this article.
All of the provisions of this article, or any part of, may be waived in a bona fide collective bargaining agreement, but only if the waiver is explicitly set forth in the agreement in clear and unambiguous terms. Unilateral implementation 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 article.
Except for bona fide collective bargaining agreements, any waiver by a Hotel Worker of any or all of the provisions of this article shall be deemed contrary to public policy and shall be void and unenforceable. Any attempt by an Incumbent or Successor Hotel Employer to have a Hotel Worker waive rights given by this article shall constitute a violation of this article.
(Added by Ord. No. 178,084, Eff. 12/30/06.)
Section
184.00 Purpose.
184.01 Definitions.
184.02 Hotel Employers' Responsibilities.
184.03 Retaliatory Action Prohibited.
184.04 Enforcement.
184.05 Exemption for Collective Bargaining Agreement.
184.06 No Waiver of Rights.
184.07 Coexistence with Other Available Relief for Specific Deprivations of Protected Rights.
184.08 Severability.
184.09 Administration.
The Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is among the world’s busiest airports, hosting millions of travelers every year. The City of Los Angeles (City) operates and maintains LAX, and as a result of this support the businesses in the area adjacent to LAX reap significant economic benefits. In particular, the hotels in the LAX area enjoy the highest occupancy rate of all Los Angeles hotels due to their proximity to LAX.
Despite the high occupancy rates of hotels in the LAX area, many of these hotels fail to pay their service workers a living wage which in the City is currently $10.64 per hour without health benefits or $9.39 per hour with health benefits. Because of the low hourly wages paid by these hotels, service employees naturally rely on gratuities paid by hotel customers.
In recent years, hotels in the LAX area have instituted the practice of adding a “service charge” of 15% to 20% of the bill for banquets and other large group events. The service charge is typically listed as a line item on the bill. Some hotels pass a portion of the service charge to the workers who actually performed the services, while other hotels retain the entire service charge. Currently, there is nothing illegal about this practice. Since hotels have instituted the practice of adding service charges to bills, many hotel workers have reported a significant reduction in the gratuities they receive from hotel guests. Thus, many hotel customers reduce or eliminate gratuities (tips) they would otherwise pay to service workers because they assume that the workers receive the “service charges,” which are added to their bills.
By way of this ordinance, the City seeks to improve the welfare of service workers at the LAX-area hotels by ensuring that they receive decent compensation for the work they perform. Accordingly, to the extent that LAX-area hotels institute or continue the practice of charging their customers “service charges,” they will be required by this ordinance to pass the entire service charge on to the workers who actually performed the services for which the service charges are billed. Whereas the LAX-area hotels derive a distinct benefit from their location near LAX, they have both the ability and responsibility to support the local workforce by engaging in fair employment practices.
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