First it happened in Santa Monica, and then in Long Beach, and now, the LA City Council is about to move forward on an emergency ordinance requiring grocery stores and drugstores to pay their employees extra money for the extra risk they take during the pandemic.
On January 5, 2020, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a proposal, that would mandate that all food and drugstore employees in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County be provided a $5 “Hero Pay” increase on top of whatever pay their private employer is already providing.
This list includes retail food markets, such as grocery stores, convenience stores, liquor stores, and other retail locations that sell food or beverage products and have a health permit issued by the Department of Public Health as a “Food Market Retail.” But the Proposal does not include many other frontline workers and businesses, such as fast-food workers, health care workers, public safety workers, and other workers who arguably could be included in the Proposal’s “Heroes” designation.