As used in this Chapter:
means a guest room with an additional bed or beds other than
those regularly within the guest room, such as a cot or rollaway bed.
means an action that detrimentally and materially affects
the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, including, but
not limited to, any act to discharge, reduce in compensation, reduce
work hours, alter established work schedules, increase workload, impose
fees or charges, or change duties of a hotel worker.
means: (1) in the event of a change in control as defined
in subsection (d)(1) below, the hotel or discrete portion of the hotel
that has been the subject of the change in control and remains in
operation following the chance in control; or (2) in the event of
a change in control as defined in subsection (d)(2) or (d)(3) below,
the hotel that remains in operation following the change in control
of that hotel.
means: (1) 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 the hotel that
continues in operation as a hotel; (2) any sale, assignment, transfer,
contribution, or other disposition of a controlling interest (including
by consolidation, merger, or reorganization) of a hotel employer or
any person who controls a hotel employer; or (3) any other event or
sequence of events (including a purchase, sale, lease, or termination
of a management contract or lease) that causes the identity of the
hotel employer at a hotel to change. For purposes of this Chapter,
a change in control shall be defined to occur on the date of execution
of the document effectuating the change in control.
means a guest room to be cleaned by a hotel worker due to
the departure of the guest assigned to that room.
means the City of Santa Monica.
means a hotel worker employed by an incumbent hotel employer
at the time of a change in control and who has been so employed for
at least two months prior to the change in control.
means an immediate threat to public safety or of substantial
risk of property loss or destruction.
means a registered guest of a hotel, a person occupying a
guest room with a registered guest, or a visitor invited to a guest
room by a registered guest or other person occupying a guest room.
means any room or suite of rooms intended to be used by a
guest of a hotel for sleeping purposes.
means an establishment that provides temporary lodging in
the form of overnight accommodations in guest rooms to transient patrons
who maintain a permanent place of residence elsewhere for payment
for periods of thirty consecutive calendar days or less, and may provide
additional services, such as conference and meeting rooms, restaurants,
bars, or recreation facilities available to guests or to the general
public. "Hotel" includes motor lodges, motels, apartment hotels, and
tourist courts meeting the definition set forth above. "Hotel" also
includes any contracted, leased or sublet premises operated in conjunction
with a hotel or that is used for the primary purpose of providing
services at a hotel. "Hotel" does not include a hostel, which is a
lodging facility primarily characterized by dormitory-style accommodations,
shared bathrooms, and reservations of beds rather than rooms. "Hotel"
also does not include corporate housing, rooming houses, boarding
houses, or private residential clubs, single-room occupancy housing,
vacation rentals, or bed and breakfast establishments within a single-unit
residence.
means any person who owns, controls, or operates a hotel
in the City, and includes any person or contractor who, in a managerial,
supervisory, or confidential capacity, employs hotel workers to provide
services at a hotel in conjunction with the hotel's purpose.
means any person who is employed by a hotel employer to provide
services at a hotel. "Hotel worker" does not include a managerial,
supervisory or confidential employee.
means the period of time beginning on the date of a change
in control and extending to ninety days from the first date that an
affected hotel is open to the public after a change in control.
means a hotel employer who owns, controls, or operates a
hotel prior to a change in control of the hotel or of a discrete portion
of the hotel that continues to operate as a hotel after the change
in control.
means a portable emergency contact device, including, but
not limited to, a panic button, that is designed so that a hotel worker
can quickly and easily activate such device to summon to the hotel
worker's location prompt assistance by a hotel security officer, manager
or supervisory hotel staff member designated by a hotel employer.
means a hotel worker whose principal duties are to clean
and put in order guest rooms in a hotel.
means a hotel employer who owns, controls, or operates a
hotel after a change in control.
means: (1) any conduct that involves the use of physical
violence or that would reasonably be interpreted as conveying a threat
of the use of physical violence, and includes, but is not limited
to, rape, assault (including sexual assault), and battery (including
sexual battery), as defined by the California Penal Code, as well
as any threat or attempt to commit such an act; or (2) any sexual
conduct, or solicitation to engage in sexual conduct, directed by
a guest at a hotel worker without the consent of the hotel worker
and includes, but is not limited to, indecent exposure as defined
by the California Penal Code.
means any consecutive twenty-four-hour period commencing
at the same time each calendar day.
(Added by Ord. No. 2614CCS § 1, adopted 9/10/19)
(a)
Personal Security Devices.
(1)
A hotel employer shall provide a
personal security device to each hotel worker assigned to work in
a guest room or restroom facility where other hotel employees are
not present in the guest room or restroom facility. The personal security
device shall be provided at no cost to the hotel worker.
(2)
A hotel worker may activate a personal
security device whenever a hotel worker reasonably believes that violent
or threatening conduct or an emergency is occurring in the hotel worker's
presence. Immediately prior to or upon activating the device, the
hotel worker may cease work and leave the immediate area of danger
to await assistance. No hotel worker shall be subject to an adverse
employment action for activating a personal security device or for
ceasing work to await assistance absent clear and convincing evidence
that the hotel worker knowingly and intentionally made a false claim
of emergency.
(3)
A hotel employer shall assign a security
guard, manager or supervisory hotel staff member to provide immediate
on-scene assistance in the event that a personal security device is
activated.
(b)
Hotel Workers' Rights. A hotel worker who brings to the attention of a hotel employer violent
or threatening conduct by a hotel guest shall be afforded the following
rights:
(1)
A hotel employer shall immediately
allow a hotel worker sufficient paid time to report the violent or
threatening conduct to a law enforcement agency and to consult with
a counselor or advisor of the hotel worker's choice.
(2)
A hotel employer shall not prevent,
or attempt to prevent, a hotel worker from reporting violent or threatening
conduct to a law enforcement agency.
(3)
A hotel employer shall not take or
threaten to take any adverse employment action against a hotel worker
based on the hotel worker's decision not to report violent or threatening
conduct to a law enforcement agency.
(4)
Upon request by a hotel worker, a
hotel employer shall provide reasonable accommodations to a hotel
worker who has been subjected to violent or threatening conduct. Reasonable
accommodations may include, but are not limited to, a modified work
schedule, reassignment to a vacant position, or other reasonable adjustment
to job structure, workplace facility, or work requirements.
(c)
Notice. A hotel employer
shall place on the back of the entrance door to each guest room and
restroom facility in a hotel a sign written in a font size of no less
than 18 points, that includes the heading "The Law Protects Hotel
Workers From Threatening Behavior," provides a citation to this Chapter
of the Santa Monica Municipal Code, and notifies guests that the hotel
employer provides personal security devices to its employees.
(d)
Training. A hotel employer
shall provide training to its hotel workers regarding how to use and
maintain a personal security device, the hotel employer's protocol
for responding to activation of a personal security device, and the
rights of hotel workers and obligations of the hotel employer as set
forth in this Section. Such training shall be provided to hotel workers
on the later of the effective date of the ordinance codified in this
Chapter or within one month of the hotel worker's date of hire.
(Added by Ord. No. 2614CCS § 1, adopted 9/10/19)
(a)
Workload Limitation. For hotels with fewer than forty guest rooms, a hotel employer shall
not require a room attendant to clean rooms amounting to a total of
more than four thousand square feet of floor space in any eight-hour
workday, unless the hotel employer pays the room attendant twice the
room attendant's regular rate of pay for each and every hour worked
during the workday. For hotels with forty or more guest rooms, a hotel
employer shall not require a room attendant to clean rooms amounting
to a total of more than three thousand five hundred square feet of
floor space in any eight-hour workday, unless the hotel employer pays
the room attendant twice the room attendant's regular rate of pay
for each and every hour worked during the workday. If a room attendant
is assigned to clean seven or more checkout or additional bed rooms
during any eight-hour workday, each such checkout or additional bed
room shall for purposes of this subsection count as five hundred square
feet, regardless of the actual square footage of each room. The limitations
contained herein apply to any combination of spaces, including guest
rooms, meeting rooms, and other rooms within the hotel, and apply
regardless of the furniture, equipment, or amenities in such rooms.
(b)
Workload Proration. The maximum floor space set forth in subsection (a) shall be reduced on a prorated basis if a room attendant works less than eight hours in a workday, shall be increased on a prorated basis for each hour of overtime that a room attendant works in excess of eight hours in a workday, and shall be calculated on a prorated basis by room attendant if a room attendant is assigned to clean rooms jointly with one or more other room attendants.
(c)
Voluntary Overtime. A
hotel employer shall not require or permit a hotel worker to work
more than ten hours in a workday unless the hotel worker consents
in writing to do so. A hotel worker's consent shall not be valid unless
the hotel employer has advised the hotel worker in writing seven days
prior to the hotel worker's consent that the hotel worker may decline
to work more than ten hours in a workday and that the hotel employer
will not subject the hotel worker to any adverse employment action
for declining to work more than ten hours in a workday. This subsection
shall not apply in the event of an emergency.
(d)
Preservation of Records. Each hotel employer shall maintain for at least two years a record of each room attendant's name, rate of pay, pay received, rooms cleaned or total square footage cleaned for each workday, overtime hours worked for each workday, and any written consents provided pursuant to subsection (b) above. A hotel employer shall make these records available for inspection and copying to any hotel worker or hotel worker's employee representative, except that the names and other personally identifying information of individual hotel workers shall be redacted except to the extent that the records identify the hotel worker who is making the request.
(Added by Ord. No. 2614CCS § 1, adopted 9/10/19)
(a)
Within five days of a change in control,
a successor hotel employer shall post written notice of the change
in control at the location of the affected hotel. This written notice
shall remain posted during any closure of the affected hotel and for
six months following the first date on which the affected hotel is
open to the public under the successor hotel employer.
(b)
This written notice shall include,
but not be limited to, the name and contact information of the incumbent
hotel employer, the name and contact information of the successor
hotel employer, and the effective date of the change in control.
(c)
This written notice shall be posted
in a conspicuous place at the affected hotel and shall be readily
visible to eligible hotel workers, other employees, and applicants
for employment.
(Added by Ord. No. 2614CCS § 1, adopted 9/10/19)
(a)
Within fifteen days of a change in
control, an incumbent hotel employer shall provide a successor hotel
employer with a list of eligible hotel workers. This list shall include
the name, date of hire, and job classification of each eligible hotel
worker. A successor hotel employer shall be required to maintain and
hire from this list during the hotel worker retention period.
(b)
A successor hotel employer shall,
during the hotel worker retention period, offer each eligible hotel
worker employment for no less than ninety days, except that:
(1)
A successor hotel employer shall
not be required to offer employment to an eligible hotel worker if
the successor hotel employer has reasonable and substantiated cause
not to retain that eligible hotel worker based on that eligible hotel
worker's individual performance or conduct while employed by the incumbent
hotel employer; and
(2)
If a successor hotel employer determines
during the hotel worker retention period that it requires fewer hotel
workers than were required by the incumbent hotel employer, the successor
hotel employer shall retain eligible hotel workers pursuant to the
terms of a relevant collective bargaining agreement, if any, or by
seniority and experience within each job classification to the extent
that comparable job classifications exist.
(c)
An eligible hotel worker retained
pursuant to this Section shall be employed under terms and conditions
established by the successor hotel employer as required by law and
shall not be discharged except for good cause based on individual
performance or conduct.
(d)
An offer of employment made pursuant to subsection (b) shall be made in writing and shall remain open for at least ten business days from the date of the offer.
(e)
A successor hotel employer shall retain written verification of each offer of employment made pursuant to subsection (b). This verification shall include the name, address, date of hire, and job classification of the eligible hotel worker to whom the offer was made. A successor hotel employer shall retain the required verification for no less than three years from the date the offer is made.
(f)
At the end of the hotel worker retention
period, a successor hotel employer shall provide each hotel worker
retained pursuant to this Section with a written performance evaluation.
If the hotel worker's performance was satisfactory, the successor
hotel employer shall consider offering the hotel worker continued
employment under the terms and conditions established by the successor
hotel employer and as required by law. A successor hotel employer
shall retain the written performance evaluation required under this
subsection for no less than three years from the date it is issued.
(g)
The rights to retention set forth
in this Section do not apply to any managerial, supervisory, or confidential
employee and do not include the right to retain any supervisory or
management responsibility.
(Added by Ord. No. 2614CCS § 1, adopted 9/10/19)
(a)
The City Manager, or designee, shall
establish a process whereby the City will certify and designate a
"Public Housekeeping Training Organization." The certification and
designation of the Public Housekeeping Training Organization shall
be carried out by the City Manager, or designee, subject to ratification
by the City Council.
(b)
In order to become certified as the
designated Public Housekeeping Training Organization, the organization
shall meet requirements set forth by the City Manager, or designee,
that shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1)
The Public Housekeeping Training
Organization must have experience providing training to hotel workers
or immigrant low-wage workers, utilize interactive teaching strategies
that engage across multiple literacy levels, and provide trainers
and educators who are culturally competent and fluent in the language
or languages that hotel workers understand.
(2)
The Public Housekeeping Training
Organization shall offer a "Public Housekeeping Training Program"
that includes no less than six hours of training, including live and
interactive instruction, on the following elements, except that the
City Manager, or designee, may determine that any element below is
separately and sufficiently required by State or local law, in which
case the element may be eliminated and the total training time reduced
accordingly:
(A)
Hotel worker rights and hotel employer responsibilities under this Chapter and Chapter 4.63 of this Code;
(B)
Best practices for identifying and
responding to suspected instances of human trafficking, domestic violence,
or violent or threatening conduct;
(C)
Best practices for effective cleaning
techniques to prevent the spread of disease;
(D)
) Best practices for identifying
and avoiding insect or vermin infestations; and
(E)
Best practices for identifying and
responding to the presence of other potential criminal activity.
(3)
The Public Housekeeping Training
Organization may coordinate with a hotel employer to ensure that training
content aligns where appropriate with the hotel employer's policies
and procedures. Ultimate discretion regarding training content shall
remain with the Public Housekeeping Training Organization, subject
to requirements set forth by the City Manager, or designee.
(4)
The Public Housekeeping Training
Organization shall administer a "Public Housekeeping Examination"
to hotel workers who complete its training program. The Public Housekeeping
Examination shall test basic proficiency in the required training
elements.
(5)
The Public Housekeeping Training
Organization shall promptly issue a "Public Housekeeping Certificate"
to any person who successfully completes its Public Housekeeping Training
Program and Public Housekeeping Examination. A Public Housekeeping
Certificate shall be valid for a period of five years.
(6)
The Public Housekeeping Training
Organization shall offer a right of review to an individual who completes
the Public Housekeeping Training Program but does not successfully
complete the Public Housekeeping Examination.
(c)
A hotel employer shall contract with
the certified Public Housekeeping Training Organization to, no less
than annually, conduct a Public Housekeeping Training Program, administer
a Public Housekeeping Examination, and issue a Public Housekeeping
Certificate to each person who has successfully completed the Public
Housekeeping Training Program and Public Housekeeping Examination.
A hotel employer shall document compliance with the training requirement
set forth in this Section by completing and signing a form as required
by the City to certify that the training was conducted. The Public
Housekeeping Training Organization that provides such a training shall
submit a report to the City within five days of the training to document
the date on which the training was held and the names of all hotel
workers who received Public Housekeeping Certificates.
(d)
No hotel employer shall employ a
hotel worker to work as a room attendant for more than one hundred
twenty days unless the hotel worker presents the hotel employer with
a valid Public Housekeeping Certificate. This subsection shall become
effective as of June 30, 2022.
(e)
Each hotel employer shall retain
records sufficient to demonstrate compliance with this Section, including
a copy of a valid Public Housekeeping Certificate for each hotel worker
then assigned to work as a room attendant.
(Added by Ord. No. 2614CCS § 1, adopted 9/10/19; amended
by Ord. No. 2660CCS § 1, adopted 12/15/20)
(a)
The City Manager, or designee, shall grant a waiver from the requirements of this Chapter to any hotel employer who demonstrates that compliance with this Chapter would require the hotel employer, in order to avoid bankruptcy or a shutdown of the hotel employer's hotel, to reduce its workforce by more than twenty percent or curtail its hotel workers' total hours by more than thirty percent. The City Manager, or designee, shall grant such a waiver only after reviewing a hotel employer's financial condition at the hotel employer's expense. A waiver granted under this Section shall be valid for no more than one year. A determination by the City Manager, or designee, to grant or deny a request for waiver under this Section may be appealed to a hearing examiner pursuant to Chapter 6.16 of this Code.
(b)
Prior to submitting a waiver application
pursuant to this Section, a hotel employer shall provide written notice
of the waiver application to all hotel workers employed by the hotel
employer. Within three days of receiving a waiver determination from
the City Manager, or designee, under this Section, a hotel employer
shall provide written notice of the determination to all hotel workers
employed by the hotel employer.
(Added by Ord. No. 2614CCS § 1, adopted 9/10/19)
A hotel employer shall provide written
notice of the hotel workers' rights set forth in this Chapter to each
hotel worker at the time of hire or on the effective date of the ordinance
codified in this Chapter, whichever is later. Such written notice
shall be provided in English, Spanish and any other language spoken
by five percent or more of the hotel workers employed by the hotel
employer.
(Added by Ord. No. 2614CCS § 1, adopted 9/10/19)
No person shall take an adverse employment
action against a hotel worker for exercising rights protected under
this Chapter. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that an adverse
employment action taken against a hotel worker within ninety days
of the hotel worker's exercise of rights under this Chapter was taken
in retaliation for the exercise of such rights.
(Added by Ord. No. 2614CCS § 1, adopted 9/10/19)
The City Manager, or designee, is
authorized to adopt administrative regulations that are consistent
with and in furtherance of the provisions of this Chapter. Violations
of the administrative regulations adopted pursuant to this Section
shall constitute violations of this Chapter and shall subject the
violator to the penalties set forth in this Chapter.
(Added by Ord. No. 2614CCS § 1, adopted 9/10/19)
The provisions of Sections 4.67.030, 4.67.040, and 4.67.050, or any part thereof, may be waived pursuant to a bona fide collective bargaining agreement, but only if the waiver is expressly set forth in clear and unambiguous written terms. Neither party to a collective bargaining relationship may waive or supersede any provision of this Chapter by means of unilaterally imposed terms and conditions of employment.
(Added by Ord. No. 2614CCS § 1, adopted 9/10/19)
(a)
Civil Action. The City
or any aggrieved person may enforce the provisions of this Chapter
by means of a civil action.
(b)
Injunction. Any person
who commits an act, proposes to commit an act, or engages in any pattern
or practice that violates this Chapter may be enjoined therefrom by
a court of competent jurisdiction. An action for injunction under
this subsection may be brought by any aggrieved person, by the City
Attorney, or by any person or entity who will fairly and adequately
represent the interests of an aggrieved person or persons.
(c)
Damages and Penalties. Any person who violates the provisions of this Chapter is liable
for any actual damages suffered by any aggrieved person or for statutory
damages up to the amount of one hundred dollars per aggrieved person
per day, except that statutory damages for failure to maintain records
shall not exceed one thousand dollars per day in total. For willful
violations, the amount of monies and penalties to be paid under this
subsection shall be trebled.
(d)
Attorneys' Fees and Costs. In a civil action brought under this Section, the court shall award
the prevailing party reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, including
expert witness fees, except that, notwithstanding Section 998 of the
Code of Civil Procedure, a prevailing defendant shall not be awarded
fees and costs unless the court finds the action was frivolous, unreasonable,
or groundless when brought, or the plaintiff continued to litigate
after it clearly became so.
(e)
Cumulative Remedies. The remedies set forth in this Chapter are cumulative. Nothing in
this Chapter shall be interpreted as restricting, precluding, or otherwise
limiting a separate or concurrent criminal prosecution under this
Code or State law.
(Added by Ord. No. 2614CCS § 1, adopted 9/10/19)
This Chapter shall become effective on January 1, 2020, with the exception of Section 4.67.050, which shall become effective immediately.
(Added by Ord. No. 2614CCS § 1, adopted 9/10/19)
