To determine if a workplace or job site falls within an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County, visit the Los Angeles County's Minimum Wage Resources website.

You can find more information regarding the HTO on the Los Angeles County website. You can also contact the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA) at 1-800-593-8222 or dhumantrafficking@dcba.lacounty.gov.

Coverage and Eligibility

Businesses operating any of the following facilities within an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County are subject to the HTO:

• On-sale general public premises licensees under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act.
• Adult or sexually oriented businesses, as defined in the California Penal Code.
• Primary airports, as defined in United States Code Title 49 section 47102(16).
• Intercity passenger rail or light rail stations.
• Bus stations.
• Truck stops, which the HTO defines as a privately owned and operated facility that provides food, fuel, shower or other sanitary facilities, and lawful overnight truck parking.
• Emergency rooms within general acute-care hospitals.
• Urgent care centers.
• Farm labor contractors, as defined in California Labor Code section 1682(b).
• Privately-operated job recruitment centers.
• Roadside rest areas.
• Businesses or establishments that offer massage or bodywork services for compensation and are not described in California Business and Professions Code section 4612(1)(b).
• Hotels, motels, bed and breakfast inns, as defined in California Business and Professions Code section 24045.12(b).
• Hostels and boarding houses, not including personal residences.
• Restaurants, as defined in Los Angeles County Code section 8.04.400.
• Community care facilities, as defined in California Health and Safety Code section 1502(a), except small family homes and foster family homes.
• Skilled nursing facilities, as defined in California Health and Safety Code section 1250(c).
• Barbershops, hair salons, and nail salons.
• Gas stations.
• Retail stores that sell food or household goods, including fresh produce, meats, poultry, fish, deli products, dairy products, canned foods, dry foods, beverages, baked goods and/or prepared foods.
• Shelters, including domestic violence shelters and homeless shelters.
• Primary and reproductive/sexual health services providers, including hospitals, offices operated by a licensed physician and surgeon, licensed clinics or clinics exempt from licensure, or other licensed health care facilities that provide any primary care or reproductive/sexual health care services.
• Garment manufacturing establishments, as defined in County Code section 8.04.220.
• Places, buildings, structures or portions thereof where any commercial goods are stored.
• Construction sites for multi-family residential developments of five or more units, commercial developments or mixed-use developments.
• Businesses or establishments providing janitorial or building maintenance services.1

The HTO does not apply to federal, state or local government entities or agencies.2

Notice Requirements

Covered businesses must post a notice in the workplace stating specific language set forth in the HTO, which provides hotline numbers for the public and human trafficking victims to call or text to seek help or report unlawful activity, and contains information about organizations that provide services to eliminate slavery and human trafficking.3

The notice must be posted near the business' public entrance or another conspicuous location where the public and employees may view the notice.4

The notice must be at least 8.5 x 11 inches in size, written in a 16-point font and must be in English, Spanish and any languages spoken by at least 20 percent of the employees and/or 20 percent of the business' patrons.5 The DCBA provides model notices in English and Spanish on the DCBA's Prevention of Human Trafficking website.

Training Requirements

Covered businesses are required to provide at least 20 minutes of training to new and existing employees performing at least two hours of work per week in the unincorporated county of Los Angeles who might interact with, or encounter, a victim of human trafficking, or who are likely to receive a report of suspected trafficking from another employee during their employment.6 This training should focus on recognizing the signs of human trafficking and reporting them to the appropriate law enforcement agency.7

The training must include all of the following:

• The definition of human trafficking, including sex trafficking and labor trafficking.
• Myths and misconceptions about human trafficking.
• Physical and mental signs to be aware of that may indicate that human trafficking is occurring.
• Guidance on how to identify individuals who are most at risk for human trafficking.
• Guidance on how to report human trafficking, including, but not limited to, national hotlines and contact information for local law enforcement agencies that an employee may use to make a confidential report.
• Protocols for reporting human trafficking when on the job.8

Training can be conducted either in person or online, and must be conducted by a provider approved by the DCBA.9 Visit the DCBA’s Prevention of Human Trafficking website for a link to free approved training.

Covered businesses must document and maintain records of employee training attendance for at least four years.10 Training records must contain the employee's name, address, occupation and date(s) of training, including copies of attendance sheets and/or certificates documenting training received.11

Retaliation and Enforcement

Businesses may not retaliate against any person who has made a good-faith report of human trafficking or discussed a suspected act of human trafficking.12

If a covered business violates the HTO, they may face the following types of penalties and fines:

• An administrative fine not to exceed $1,000 per violation, per day.
• A civil action, including an injunction, and penalty of up to $2,500 per violation, per day.
• A misdemeanor charge and penalty of up to $1,000, imprisonment in the county jail for up to six months, or both.
• A public nuisance violation.13

1. Los Angeles County Prevention of Human Trafficking Ordinance sec. 13.110.040

2. Los Angeles County Prevention of Human Trafficking Ordinance sec. 13.110.020(C)

3. Los Angeles County Prevention of Human Trafficking Ordinance sec. 13.110.050

4. Los Angeles County Prevention of Human Trafficking Ordinance sec. 13.110.040

5. Los Angeles County Prevention of Human Trafficking Ordinance secs. 13.110.050 and 13.110.060

6. Los Angeles County Prevention of Human Trafficking Ordinance secs. 13.110.020(B) and 13.110.070(A)

7. Los Angeles County Prevention of Human Trafficking Ordinance sec. 13.110.070(A)

8. Los Angeles County Prevention of Human Trafficking Ordinance sec. 13.110.070(B)

9. Los Angeles County Prevention of Human Trafficking Ordinance sec. 13.110.070(D)

10. Los Angeles County Prevention of Human Trafficking Ordinance secs. 13.110.070(E), 13.110.070(G) and 13.110.090(B)

11. Los Angeles County Prevention of Human Trafficking Ordinance sec. 13.110.090(A)

12. Los Angeles County Prevention of Human Trafficking Ordinance sec. 13.110.080

13. Los Angeles County Prevention of Human Trafficking Ordinance sec. 13.110.110