You can find more information regarding the HWPO on the city’s website. You can also contact the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA), which enforces the city’s HWPO, at 1-800-593-8222 or by email at wagehelp@dcba.lacounty.gov.

Coverage and Eligibility

A covered hotel employer under the HWPO is 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 the hotel in conjunction with the hotel's purpose.1

A “hotel” is any establishment that provides temporary lodging for payment in the form of overnight accommodations in guest rooms to transient patrons for periods of 30 consecutive days or fewer. Types of hotels include:

• Hotels.
• Motor lodges.
• Motels.
• Apartment hotels.
• Tourist courts.

A “hotel” also includes any contracted, leased or sublet premises connected to or operated in conjunction with the building's purpose, or that provides services at the building2.

A “hotel” does not include:

• Hostels;
• Corporate housing;
• Rooming houses;
• Boarding houses;
• Private residential clubs;
• Single-room occupancy housing;
• Vacation rentals; or
• Bed and breakfast establishments within a single-unit residence.3

“Hotel workers” entitled to the rights and protections of the HWPO are any persons employed by a hotel employer to provide services at a hotel. Managerial, supervisory or confidential employees of a hotel employer are not hotel workers under the HWPO.4

Personal Security Devices

A hotel employer must provide, and maintain in good working order, a personal security device at no cost to each hotel worker assigned to work in a guest room or restroom that no other hotel worker is assigned to work.5 The personal security device must be a portable emergency contact device, such as a panic button, that signals the hotel worker's location and provides direct contact with the hotel worker and a hotel security guard, manager or supervisor designated to respond to violent or threatening conduct.6

A hotel employer must assign a security guard, manager or supervisory hotel staff to provide immediate on-scene assistance to all personal security device activations.7

A hotel worker may activate their personal security device whenever they reasonably believe that violent or threatening conduct or an emergency is occurring in their presence.8 Violent or threatening conduct includes the use or threat of physical violence, including rape, assault (sexual or otherwise), and battery, as well as any sexual conduct or solicitation directed toward a hotel worker without the hotel worker's consent.9

The HWPO authorizes a hotel worker to cease work immediately and leave the area prior to or upon activation of the personal security device to await assistance. No hotel worker may be subject to an adverse employment action -- such as termination, reduced wages or work hours, altered work schedules, or increased workloads -- for ceasing work under these conditions unless there is clear and convincing evidence the hotel worker knowingly and intentionally made a false claim of an emergency.10

Hotel Workers’ Rights

The HWPO provides for various rights and protections to hotel workers who bring violent or threatening conduct to their employer's attention.

Hotel employers must immediately provide sufficient paid time to hotel workers to report the incident to law enforcement and to consult with a counselor or advisor of the worker's choice.11

A hotel employer can neither prevent or attempt to prevent a hotel worker from reporting the violent or threatening conduct to law enforcement, nor retaliate against a hotel worker for choosing, or not choosing, to report the conduct to law enforcement.12

A hotel employer must provide a hotel worker with a reasonable accommodation related to the violent or threatening conduct upon request, Reasonable accommodations may include:

• A modified work schedule;
• Reassignment to a vacant position; Or
• Other reasonable adjustment to job structure, workplace facility or work requirements.13

Hotel Worker Workload Limitation

Hotel employers are subject to limitations on the workload they may assign their hotel workers who are employed as a “room attendant.” “Room attendants” are hotel workers whose principal duties are to clean and put in order guest rooms in a hotel.14

Hotel employers with less than 40 guest rooms may not require room attendants to clean more than 4,000 square feet worth of guest rooms in an eight-hour workday unless the hotel employer pays the room attendant twice their regular rate of pay for each hour worked during the workday.15

Hotel employers with 40 or more guest rooms may not require room attendants to clean more than 3,500 square feet worth of guest rooms in an eight-hour workday unless the hotel employer pays the room attendant twice their regular rate of pay for each hour worked during the workday.16

If a room attendant works less than eight hours in a workday, the maximum floor space must be prorated. If a room attendant works overtime beyond eight hours, the floor space must increase proportionally. When room attendants clean rooms jointly, the maximum floor space must be prorated accordingly for each room attendant.17

If a room attendant is assigned to clean seven or more checkout or additional bed rooms during an eight-hour workday, each of those rooms will be counted as 500 square feet, regardless of the actual size. These limitations apply to all types of spaces, including guest rooms, meeting rooms, and other areas within the hotel, and are applicable regardless of the room's furniture, equipment or amenities.18

Except in the event of an “emergency”, hotel employers may not require or permit a hotel worker to work more than 10 hours in a workday unless the hotel worker consents in writing to do so. A hotel employer may not obtain this written consent without first advising the hotel worker in writing, seven days prior to obtaining consent, that the worker may decline to work more than 10 hours in a workday and that such declination will not subject them to adverse employment action.19

The HWPO defines an emergency as an “immediate threat to public safety or of substantial risk of property loss or destruction.”20

Training

The HWPO requires hotel employers to provide comprehensive training to hotel workers on the following:

• Use and maintenance of the personal security devices;
• The hotel employer's protocol for responding to activation of a personal security device; and
• Rights of hotel workers and obligations of hotel employers as set forth in the HWPO.21

Hotel employers must provide this training to newly hired hotel workers within 30 days of hire,22

Additionally, effective June 30, 2022, a hotel employer may not employ a hotel worker as a room attendant for more than 120 days without the worker obtaining a valid Public Housekeeping Certificate.23

A hotel employer must annually contract with a certified Public Housekeeping Training Organization to conduct a Public Housekeeping Training Program, administer an examination, and issue a Public Housekeeping Certificate to each person who successfully completes both the training and examination.24 A Public Housekeeping Certificate is valid for five years.25

The Public Housekeeping Training Program consists of at least six hours of training, including live and interactive instruction, covering the following topics:

• Hotel worker rights and hotel employer responsibilities under the HWPO;
• Best practices for identifying and responding to suspected instances of human trafficking, domestic violence, or violent or threatening behavior;
• Best practices for effective cleaning techniques to prevent the spread of disease;
• Best practices for identifying and avoiding insect or vermin infestations; and
• Best practices for identifying and responding to other potential criminal activity.26
• A hotel employer must document compliance with the training requirement by completing and signing a form certifying that the training was conducted27.
• Hotel employers must retain records demonstrating compliance with the training requirement, including keeping a copy of a valid Public Housekeeping Certificate for each worker employed as a room attendant.28

Change in Control and Hotel Worker Retention

Within five days of a change in control (e.g., a change in ownership), the successor hotel employer must post a written notice at the affected hotel. This notice must remain visible throughout any closure and for six months after the hotel reopens to the public under the new management. The notice should include the name and contact information of both the incumbent and successor hotel employers, along with the effective date of the change. It must be posted in a prominent location within the hotel where it is clearly visible to eligible hotel workers, employees and job applicants.29

The incumbent hotel employer must provide the successor hotel employer with a list of eligible hotel workers within fifteen days of a change in control. This list must include the name, hire date and job classification of each worker. The successor hotel employer is required to maintain and hire from this list during the retention period.30

The “retention period" is 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.31

During the retention period, the successor hotel employer must offer each eligible worker at least ninety days of employment, with some exceptions. For example, the employer is not required to offer employment if there is reasonable and substantiated cause not to retain the worker due to performance or conduct under the incumbent employer. If fewer workers are needed than before, the employer must follow the terms of any relevant collective bargaining agreement, or use seniority and experience within job classifications where applicable.32

Eligible hotel workers retained must be employed under terms set by the successor employer in compliance with applicable law and may only be discharged for good cause related to individual performance or conduct. Employment offers must be made in writing and remain open for at least ten business days.33

At the end of the retention period, the successor employer must provide each retained worker with a written performance evaluation. If the worker's performance is satisfactory, the employer should consider offering continued employment under the appropriate terms.34

The successor hotel employer must retain written verification of each offer, including the worker's name, address, hire date, and job classification, and of each written performance evaluation. This documentation must be kept for at least three years.35

The retention requirements do not apply to managerial, supervisory, or confidential employees, nor do they include the right to retain any supervisory or management responsibilities.36

Posting and Notice Requirements

On the back of the entrance door to each guest room and restroom facility, hotel employers must display a written notification, in a font size of no less than 18 points, that includes a:

• Heading stating, “The Law Protects Hotel Workers From Threatening Behavior”;
• Citation to the HWPO; and
• Notification to guests that the hotel employer provides personal security devices to its employees.37

Hotel employers must also provide a written notice of the hotel workers' rights under the HWPO at the time of hire and provide this notice in English, Spanish, and any other language spoken by five percent or more of the workforce.38

Recordkeeping

Hotel employers must keep for two years records for each room attendant as follows:

• Room attendant's name;
• Rate of pay;
• Pay received;
• Identification of rooms cleaned or total square footage cleaned for each workday;
• Overtime hours worked for each workday; and
• Any written consent provided to work in excess of 10 hours in a workday.39

Hotel employers must make these records available for inspection and copying to any hotel worker or their designated representative except that the records shall be redacted for personally identifying information of any hotel worker other than the worker making the request40.

Retaliation

Hotel workers are protected from any adverse employment action (e.g., termination, reduction in wages, etc.) for exercising their rights under the HWPO. There is a rebuttable presumption that any adverse employment action taken within 90 days of a hotel worker exercising such rights was done in retaliation, unless proven otherwise.41

Enforcement

The HWPO may be enforced by a civil action filed in superior court by either the city or an aggrieved person.42 A party who claims a violation of the HWPO may seek and receive injunctive relief against any person violating the HWPO and monetary damages reflecting the aggrieved person's actual damages or statutory damages in the amount of $100 per aggrieved person per day of violation. Statutory damages shall not exceed $1,000 per day. Any violations that are found to be willful will triple the amount of damages to be paid.43

The court is also directed to award reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, including expert witness fees, to a successful plaintiff.44

Exemptions and Waivers

Any or all of the requirements pertaining to hotel workers workload limitations, notice of change in control, and hotel worker retention may be waived pursuant to a bona fide collective bargaining agreement that includes the waiver in clear and unambiguous written terms. Neither party to the collective bargaining relationship may waive any provision of the HWPO unilaterally.45

A hotel employer may apply for a one-year waiver of the HWPO’s requirements based on financial hardship if it can demonstrate that with its current financial condition, compliance with the HWPO would result in:

• Either bankruptcy or a shutdown of the hotel;
• A reduction of the workforce by more than 20 percent; Or
• A reduction of hotel workers' total hours by more than 30 percent.46

Prior to submitting the application, the hotel employer must provide written notice of the application to all employed hotel workers, as well as written notice of the determination to hotel workers within three days of receipt.47

A determination to grant or deny the waiver may be appealed in accordance with the city's practice for hearing examiner review.48

1. Santa Monica Mun. Code sec. 4.67.010