Los Angeles County Passes Retail Fair Workweek Ordinance for Unincorporated Areas

Blog By Ellen E. Cohen & Brittney E. Willis – Law offices of Jackson Lewis, PC

Recently, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed the Fair Workweek Ordinance, similar to the ordinance passed by the City of Los Angeles last year.

The ordinance takes effect July 1, 2025.

Covered Employers

The ordinance applies to retail employers who:

• Are identified as a retail business in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) within the retail trade categories and subcategories 44 through 45; or any business, including non-profit organizations, whose revenues are generated mainly from the sale to end users of tangible products that are primarily for personal, household, or family purposes, including, but not limited to, appliances, clothing, electronics, groceries, and household items;
• Directly, indirectly, or through an agent or any other person, including through the services of a contractor, temporary service, or staffing agency, exercises control over the wages, hours, or working conditions of any retail employee; and
• Employ 300 or more employees globally.

Covered Employees

The ordinance applies to retail employees who:

• In a particular workweek performs at least 2 hours of work within the unincorporated areas of the county for a retail employer (check the County’s pageto determine whether a workplace is in unincorporated areas of the county);
• Qualifies as an employee entitled to payment of a minimum wage from a covered employer under the California minimum wage law as provided under California Labor Code section 1197 and wage orders published by the California Industrial Welfare Commission; and
• Is assigned a primary work location and duties that support retail operations, including, but not limited to, a retail store or warehouse.

Obligations of Covered Employers

Per the ordinance, covered employers must provide the covered employee with a written good-faith estimate of a work schedule before hiring. The good faith estimate must include a notice of rights under the ordinance.

If a covered employee’s hours, day, location, or shifts worked substantially deviate from the good faith estimate, the employer must have a documented, legitimate business reason, unknown at the time the estimate was provided.

A covered employer must provide notice of a covered employee’s schedule at least 14 days before the start of the work period either by posting or transmitting by electronic means.

Before a retail employer may hire new employees or use a contractor or similar, the retail employer must first offer work to current employees if:

• One or more employees are qualified to do the work and
• The additional work hours would not result in the payment of a premium rate under California law.

Covered employers must not schedule covered employees to work a shift that starts less than 10 hours from the end of their last shift unless they obtain written consent from the employee and pay the employee a premium of time and a half for each hour of the second shift.

Predictability Pay

Covered employers must provide Predictability Pay under the following conditions:

• Compensate a covered employee with one additional hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate for each change to their work schedule that results in no loss of time to the employee or results in additional work time that exceeds 15 minutes.
• Compensate a covered employee at one-half the employee’s regular rate of pay for the time the employee does not work for the following reasons if occurring after the advanced notice required under the ordinance:
  • Subtracting hours from a shift before or after the employee reports for duty;
  • Changing the start or end time of a shift results in a loss of more than 15 minutes;
  • Changing the date of a shift;
  • Cancelling a shift; or
  • Schedule the covered employee for an on-call shift in which the employee is not called in.

Whereas, Predictability Pay is not required under the following conditions:

• A covered employee requested a schedule change;
• A covered employee accepts a schedule change initiated by the employer due to the absence of another employee;
• The employee accepts additional hours offered under the ordinance; or
• The employee’s hours are reduced due to the employee’s violation of an existing law or policy.

Notice and Recordkeeping Requirements

Retail employers must post notice of the covered employee’s workweek rights which will be published by the Department of Consumer & Business Affairs.

Retail employers must retain all records required under the ordinance for both current and former employees for 3 years.

If you have questions about the Los Angeles County Fair Workweek or related issues, contact a Jackson Lewis attorney to discuss.

Website: http://www.jacksonlewis.com