Petaluma Municipal Code Ch. 8.60 Hospitality Worker Right to Retention

This chapter shall be known as the "City of Petaluma Hospitality Worker Right to Retention." (Ord. 2776 NCS §3,

2021.)

The deNnitions set forth in this section shall govern the construction and meaning of the terms used in this

chapter:

A. "Change in control" means any sale, assignment, transfer, contribution, or other disposition of all or

substantially all of the assets used in the operation of a hotel, or a discrete portion of a hotel that continues to

operate as the same type of business of the incumbent hotel employer, or any person who controls the

incumbent hotel employer.

B. "Hotel" means a residential building that is designated or used for lodging and other related services for the

public, including but not limited to food and beverage preparation and service and meetings, tradeshows and

conventions, and that contains Nfty 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 operated in

conjunction with a hotel.

C. "Hotel employee" means any individual whose regular place of work is a hotel within the city and who is

employed on a full-time basis or a part-time basis such that the employee is regularly scheduled to work eight or

more hours per week during the ninety days immediately preceding any change in control subject to this chapter.

For the purposes of this chapter, "hotel employee" excludes persons who are managerial, supervisory, or

conNdential employees, and persons regularly scheduled to work fewer than eight hours per week.

D. "Incumbent hotel employer" means the person who owns, controls, and/or operates a hotel prior to the

change in control.

E. "Person" means any individual, proprietorship, partnership, joint venture, corporation, limited liability

company, trust, association, or other entity, with more than twenty-Nve employees in the state of California that

may employ persons or enter into service contracts. For the purposes of this chapter, "person" excludes a county,

school district, community college district, the state of California, the federal government, and any other

governmental entity.

F. "Regularly scheduled" with respect to the deNnition of "hotel employee" in subsection C of this section refers

to work schedules of an ongoing nature and not for a speciNc event or to accomplish a single repair or upgrade.

G. "Successor hotel employer" means the person who owns, controls, and/or operates a hotel after the change

in control.

H. "Transfer document" means the purchase agreement or other documents creating a binding arrangement to

eQect the change in control.

(Ord. 2776 NCS §3, 2021.)

A. No less than Nfteen calendar days after execution of a transfer document, incumbent hotel employers shall

provide to the successor hotel employer a full and accurate list containing the name, home address and telephone

number, date of hire, and job category of each hotel employee employed by the incumbent hotel employer.

B. The successor hotel employer shall retain for a ninety-day transition employment period all hotel employees

that were employed by the incumbent hotel employer. During the ninety-day transition period, the successor hotel

employer shall not substantially change a hotel employee’s work schedule or work location.

C. Successor hotel employers shall ensure that a notice to hotel employees is posted setting forth the rights

provided under this chapter and including a copy of any list provided pursuant to subsection A of this section with

the home addresses and phone numbers redacted, and that the notice is also provided to the hotel employees’

collective bargaining representative, if any. The notice and list shall be posted in the same location and manner

that other statutorily required notices to employees are posted.

D. If at any time during the ninety-day transition period a successor hotel employer determines that fewer hotel

employees are required than had been employed by the incumbent hotel employer, the successor hotel employer

shall retain the hotel employees by seniority within job classiNcation; provided, that during the ninety-day

transition period, successor hotel employers shall maintain a preferential hiring list of those hotel employees not

retained who shall be given a right of Nrst refusal to any jobs within their classiNcations that become available

during the ninety-day transition period.

E. Except as provided in subsection D of this section, during the ninety-day transition period, successor hotel

employers shall not discharge without cause hotel employees retained pursuant to this section.

F. At the end of the ninety-day transition period, successor hotel employers shall complete a written

performance evaluation for each hotel employee retained pursuant to this section. If a hotel employee’s

performance during the ninety-day transition period is satisfactory, the successor hotel employer shall oQer the

hotel employee continued employment under the terms and conditions established by the successor hotel

employer.

(Ord. 2776 NCS §3, 2021.)

A. A hotel employee who has been discharged or not retained in violation of this chapter, or the collective

bargaining agent of the employee, may bring an action in any superior court of the state of California having

jurisdiction over the successor hotel employer charged with violating this chapter. Upon Nnding a violation of this

chapter, the court shall award back pay, including the value of beneNts, for each day during which the violation

occurred and continues to occur. If the court determines that the successor hotel employer’s violations were

willful, it shall order treble back pay and reinstatement. The amount of back pay awarded shall be calculated as

the greater of either of the following:

1. The average regular rate of pay received by the employee during the last three years of the employee’s

employment in the same occupation classiNcation multiplied by the average hours worked during the last

three years of the employee’s employment.

2. The Nnal regular rate of pay received by the employee at the time of change of control of the

predecessor hotel, multiplied by the number of hours regularly worked by the employee.

B. The court may issue a preliminary or permanent injunction to enjoin violations of this chapter.

C. The court shall award plaintiQs that prevail in any legal action taken pursuant to this chapter reasonable

attorney’s fees, expert witness fees and costs as part of the costs recoverable.

(Ord. 2776 NCS §3, 2021.)

This chapter applies to all hotel employees as deNned in Section 8.60.020 regardless of whether they are

represented for purposes of collective bargaining or are covered by a collective bargaining agreement. Nothing in

this chapter shall be construed to invalidate or limit the rights, remedies and procedures of any contract or

agreement that provides equal, additional, or greater protections for hotel employees compared with the

protections aQorded by this chapter. (Ord. 2776 NCS §3, 2021.)

The purpose of this chapter is to establish minimum labor standards. This chapter does not preempt or prevent

the establishment of superior employment standards (including higher wages) or expansion of the applicability of

or the rights established by this chapter by ordinance, resolution, contract, or any other action of the city. This

chapter shall not be construed to limit a discharged employee’s right to bring a cause of action for wrongful

termination. (Ord. 2776 NCS §3, 2021.)

The Petaluma Municipal Code is current through Ordinance 2916 NCS, passed December 1, 2025.

Disclaimer: The city clerk’s oPce has the oPcial version of the Petaluma Municipal Code. Users should contact the

city clerk’s oPce for ordinances passed subsequent to the ordinance cited above.

City Website: cityofpetaluma.net

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