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Report regarding an ordinance requiring large grocery and drug stores in South San Francisco to pay employees an additional five dollars ($5.00) per hour in "hazard pay" during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic (Alex Greenwood, Director of Economic & Community Development, and Sky Woodruff, City Attorney)
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
At the direction of City Council, staff drafted a proposed ordinance mandating "hazard pay" for grocery and drug store workers within the City. Should Council desire to adopt a hazard pay ordinance, staff recommends adopting the proposed ordinance as an urgency ordinance. Because the proposed ordinance is an urgency ordinance, a four-fifths vote of the City Council is required for adoption. If the Council chooses to proceed with adoption, staff recommends Council additionally introduce the ordinance for a first reading and proceed to adopt the measure as a non-urgency ordinance. The non-urgency ordinance could also be introduced if the four-fifths threshold for an urgency ordinance cannot be reached.
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BACKGROUND
A. Update on Hazard Pay Ordinances in California
As indicated in the staff report for the February 10 meeting (see Attachment A), at least a dozen local jurisdictions in California are currently considering a version of a "hazard pay" ordinance that would provide extra hourly pay to certain types of retail workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in recognition of the heightened health risks associated with their work.
At the time the last staff report was drafted, three cities had adopted a hazard pay urgency ordinance: Oakland, Long Beach, and Montebello. Since then, three more cities have adopted hazard pay urgency ordinances: San Leandro, West Hollywood, and Coachella. In addition, Irvine and San Jose have both introduced non-urgency ordinances that are awaiting a second reading.
The ordinances in these cities compare as follows:
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Around the County since the l...
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