You can find more information regarding the HWPO on the city’s website, or you may email whwage@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 commercial facility not approved as a dwelling unit that provides guest rooms or suites for rent, with or without meals or kitchen facilities. It is intended for overnight or short-term lodging and is generally not meant to serve as the guest's permanent residence. A “hotel” may include additional amenities such as swimming pools, tennis courts, indoor athletic facilities, retail spaces, and meeting rooms. A private club with guest rooms available for overnight stays is also considered a “hotel.”2

“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.3

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.4 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 or an emergency.5

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.6

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.7 “Violent or threatening conduct” means any act involving physical violence or that could reasonably be seen as a threat of physical violence, or any sexual conduct or solicitation of sexual conduct directed at a hotel worker without their consent. This includes, but is not limited to, rape, assault, battery, and any sexual behavior or solicitation of sexual behavior directed at a hotel worker without their consent.8

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.9

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.10

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; or
• 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
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• 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, 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 conducted.27

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

Right of Recall After Layoff

A hotel employer must offer “laid-off hotel workers” any available job positions for which the laid off worker is qualified, in writing, by mail to their last known address, and via email and text if that information is available.

A "laid-off hotel worker" is anyone who:

• Worked at least two hours in a week within the city's boundaries for a hotel employer;
• Had six or more months of service in the twelve months before March 16, 2020; and
• Whose separation from work occurred between March 16, 2020, and the end of the city’s Declaration of Emergency (April 1, 2023).

The separation must be due to a government shutdown, lack of business, reduction in force, or other economic, non-disciplinary reason. Managers, supervisors, or confidential employees are not considered laid-off hotel workers.29

A laid-off hotel worker is qualified if they:

1. Previously held the same or similar position at the hotel; Or
2. Can be qualified with the same training given to new hires for that position.

The hotel employer must offer positions to laid-off hotel workers in an order of preference corresponding to categories (1) and (2) above. If multiple hotel workers are entitled to preference for a position, the hotel employer must offer it to the laid-off worker with the longest length of service.30

A laid-off hotel worker must be given at least ten business days to accept or decline a job offer. A hotel employer may issue simultaneous, conditional offers, with final employment determined by the priority system outlined above.31

If a hotel employer declines to recall a laid-off worker due to lack of qualifications and hires someone else, the employer must provide the laid-off worker with written notice of the non-selection within thirty days, stating the reasons. This record must be kept for at least three years and made available to the city or the laid-off worker upon request.32

At the time of layoff, a hotel employer must provide each laid-off worker with written notice of their layoff date and rights under the HWPO. This notice should be delivered in person or to the worker's last known mailing address, and by email if available.33

The right of recall also applies when the hotel employer changes ownership through a sale, transfer, or disposition of substantially all assets, as long as the business continues the same or similar operations after the change.34

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.35

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 must maintain and hire from this list during the “retention period.”36

“Eligible hotel worker” means a hotel worker employed by an incumbent hotel employer at the time of a change in control and for at least two months prior to the change in control. The “retention period" is the period of time beginning on the date of a change in control extending ninety days from the first date that an affected hotel is open to the public after a change in control.37

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.38

Eligible hotel workers who are 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.39 Employment offers must be made in writing and remain open for at least ten business days.40

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.41

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. The successor employer must keep the documentation for at least three years.42

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.43

Posting and Notice Requirements

Hotel employers must display a written notification on the back of the entrance door to each guest room and restroom facility, 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.44

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 workforce45.

Recordkeeping

Hotel employers must keep for at least three 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.46

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 request.47

Hotel employers must also retain the following layoff records for at least three years from the date the layoff notice was provided for each laid-off worker:

• Full legal name;
• Job classification at separation;
• Hire date;
• Last known address, email, phone number; and
• A copy of the layoff notice.48

Additionally, hotel employers must maintain records of any incidents where personal security devices were activated for at least three years.49

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.50

Enforcement

The HWPO may be enforced by a civil action filed in superior court by either the city or an aggrieved person.51 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.52

The court is also directed to award reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, including expert witness fees, to a successful plaintiff.53

Exemptions and Waivers

Any or all of the requirements pertaining to hotel workers workload limitations, right of hotel worker recall, and hotel worker retention due to change in control 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.54

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.55

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.56

A determination to grant or deny the waiver may be appealed in accordance with the city's practice for hearing examiner review.57

1. West Hollywood Mun. Code sec. 5.127.010