As we recently reported, the Los Angeles City Council is considering implementing hiring restrictions and requirements on the private sector.  If passed, these ordinances with exponentially increase the difficulties already faced by businesses throughout Los Angeles as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.  There are several motions pending, each of which will adversely impact employers.  Given the importance of the issue, we are reposting the following from the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce:

Action Alert! On Wednesday, April 22 at 10 am, the Los Angeles City Council is meeting to consider, amongst other things, new policies to require businesses that have laid off employees to re-hire personnel based on seniority and to require businesses under new ownership to retain all employees for at least 90 days regardless of the circumstances unless there is just cause. 

This is an unprecedented intrusion into the operation of private businesses.  

To read the “Worker Retention” Ordinance please click here. 

To read the “Right of Recall” Ordinance please click here. 

To see the meeting agenda and watch the meeting on Wednesday morning, please click here.

The Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce strongly opposes these proposed laws. Please see our attached letter. Businesses across the area are in difficult circumstances and a law that ties their hands even more will exacerbate the problem and represents an unwarranted intrusion into the hiring decisions of the private sector.

Action Required

Please write and call in today to the LA City Council using the following contact information provided by the LA Area Chamber of Commerce.  Please let the Los Angeles City Council know that this is a very difficult time for businesses that are desperately trying to survive.  Now is not the time to impose unprecedented regulations and constraints on businesses nor is it appropriate for the City of LA to try to impose "civil service" type rules on the private sector.

This blog is presented under protest by the law firm of Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP. It is essentially the random thoughts and opinions of someone who lives in the trenches of the war that often is employment law–he/she may well be a little shell-shocked. So if you are thinking “woohoo, I just landed some free legal advice that will fix all my problems!”, think again. This is commentary, people, a sketchy overview of some current legal issue with a dose of humor, but commentary nonetheless; as if Dennis Miller were a lawyer…and still mildly amusing. No legal advice here; you would have to pay real US currency for that (unless you are my mom, and even then there are limits). But feel free to contact us with your questions and comments—who knows, we might even answer you. And if you want to spread this stuff around, feel free to do so, but please keep it in its present form (‘cause you can’t mess with this kind of poetry). Big news: Copyright 2020. All rights reserved; yep, all of them.

If you have any questions about this article, contact the writers directly, assuming he or she was brave enough to attach their name to it. If you have any questions regarding this blog or your life in general, contact Kelly O. Scott, Esq., commander in chief of this blog and Head Honcho (official legal title) of ECJ’s Employment Law Department.