Los Angeles County Municipal Code Ch. 8.22 Right of Recall

During the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic upheaval, the County enacted legal protections for certain workers laid off due to the pandemic to ensure fair employment practices and to reduce the demand on government-funded social services. These protections, which ensured janitorial, maintenance, security service, and hospitality service employers honor their former employees' right to return to their jobs, helped speed the transition back to a functioning labor market and lessened the damage to the County's economy. As the worst effects of the pandemic wane, these protections remain vitally important for workers in janitorial, maintenance, security service, and hospitality service positions, to ensure they have an opportunity to return to their jobs if they happen to be laid off, to benefit both the affected workers, their dependents, and the local economy.

(Ord. 2025-0042 § 2, 2025; Ord. 2020-0030 § 1, 2020.)

The following definitions shall apply to this Chapter:

A.

"County" means the unincorporated areas of the County of Los Angeles.

B.

"Commercial Property Employer" means an owner, operator, manager or lessee, including a contractor, subcontractor or sublessee, of a non-residential property in the County that employs 25 or more janitorial, maintenance or security service workers. The only employees of a Commercial Property Employer covered by this Chapter are the Commercial Property Employer's janitorial, maintenance, and security service workers.

C.

"Employer" means a Commercial Property Employer or a Hotel Employer. For purposes of this Chapter, an "Employer" does not include non-profit entities. Federal, state, and local government agencies are exempt from this Chapter. The private contractors of an Employer are not exempt.

D.

"Hotel Employer" means an owner, operator or manager of a residential building in the County designated or used for public lodging or other related service for the public and either contains 50 or more guestrooms or earned gross receipts in the prior fiscal year exceeding $5 million. A Hotel Employer includes the owner, operator, manager, or lessee of any restaurant physically located on hotel premises.

E.

"Laid Off Worker" means any person who, in a particular week, performs at least two hours of work within the geographical boundaries of the County for an Employer, has a Length of Service with the Employer of six months or more, and whose most recent separation from active employment by the Employer occurred on or after March 4, 2020, as a result of a lack of business, a reduction in work force or other economic, non-disciplinary reason. This ordinance creates a rebuttable presumption that any termination occurring on or after March 4, 2020, was due to a non-disciplinary reason.

F.

"Length of Service" means the total of all periods of time during which an employee has been in active service for an Employer, including periods of time when the Employee was on leave or vacation.

(Ord. 2025-0042 § 3, 2025; Ord. 2020-0030 § 1, 2020.)

A.

Priority for Laid Off Workers. An Employer shall make the offer to a Laid Off Worker in writing, to the last known mailing address, email, and text message phone number, to the extent the Employer possesses such information, of any position which is or becomes available after this Chapter's effective date for which the Laid Off Worker is qualified. A Laid Off Worker is qualified—and must be offered a position in the order of priority below—if the Laid Off Worker:

Held the same or similar position at the same site of employment at the time of the Laid Off Worker's most recent separation from active service with the Employer; or

Is qualified for the position or can be qualified for the position with the same training that would be provided to a new worker hired into that position.

If more than one Laid Off Worker is entitled to preference for a position, the Employer shall offer positions to the Laid Off Worker with the greatest Length of Service in Subsections A.1 and then A.2 of this Section with the Employer at the

employment site.

B.

Time Limit. A Laid Off Worker who is offered a position pursuant to this Chapter shall be given no less than ten (10) business days in which to accept or decline the offer. A "business day" is any day except Saturday, Sunday, or official state holidays.

(Ord. 2025-0042 § 4, 2025; Ord. 2020-0030 § 1, 2020.)

No Employer shall refuse to employ, terminate, reduce in compensation, or otherwise take any adverse action against any person for seeking to enforce his or her rights under this Chapter by any lawful means, for participating in proceedings related to this Chapter, for opposing any practice proscribed by this Chapter, or for otherwise asserting rights under this Chapter. This Section shall also apply to any Laid Off Worker who mistakenly, but in good faith, alleges noncompliance with this Chapter.

(Ord. 2025-0042 § 5, 2025; Ord. 2020-0030 § 1, 2020.)

A.

A Laid Off Worker may bring an action in the Superior Court of the State of California against an Employer for violations of this Chapter and may be awarded:

Hiring and reinstatement rights pursuant to this Chapter.

All actual damages (including, but not limited to, lost pay and benefits) suffered by the Laid Off Worker or statutory damages in the sum of $1,000, whichever is greater.

Punitive damages, pursuant to California Civil Code section 3294.

The court shall award reasonable attorneys' fees and costs to a Laid Off Worker who prevails in any such enforcement action and to an Employer who prevails and obtains a court determination that the lawsuit was frivolous.

B.

A civil action by a Laid Off Worker alleging a violation of any provision of this Chapter shall commence only after the following requirements have been met:

The Laid Off Worker provides written notice to the Employer of the provisions of the Chapter alleged to have been violated and the facts to support the alleged violation; and

The Employer is provided fifteen (15) days from receipt of the written notice to cure any alleged violation.

C.

Notwithstanding any provision of this Code, or any other ordinance to the contrary, no criminal penalties shall attach for violation of this Chapter.

(Ord. 2025-0042 § 6, 2025; Ord. 2020-0030 § 1, 2020.)

The purpose of this Chapter is to ensure minimum labor standards. This Chapter shall not be construed to limit a discharged Employee's right to bring a common law cause of action for wrongful termination.

(Ord. 2025-0042 § 8, 2025; Ord. 2020-0030 § 1, 2020.)

All of the provisions of this Chapter, or any part thereof, may be waived in a 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 to constitute, a waiver of all or any of the provisions of this Chapter.

(Ord. 2025-0042 § 9, 2025; Ord. 2020-0030 § 1, 2020.)

Except for a collective bargaining agreement provision made pursuant to Section 8.22.080, any waiver by a Laid Off Worker of any or all provisions of this Chapter shall be deemed contrary to public policy and shall be void and unenforceable. Other than in connection with the bona fide negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement, any request by an Employer to a worker to waive rights given by this Chapter shall constitute a violation of this Chapter.

(Ord. 2025-0042 § 10, 2025; Ord. 2020-0030 § 1, 2020.)

If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this Chapter is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Chapter. The Board of Supervisors hereby declares that it would have adopted this Chapter and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause and phrase thereof not declared invalid or unconstitutional, without regard to whether any portion of the Chapter would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.

(Ord. 2025-0042 § 11, 2025; Ord. 2020-0030 § 1, 2020.)