Workers in Buena Park may soon see work schedules two weeks in advance, local working animal abuse protections and fair pay rules for freelancers under a host of potential laws city officials are exploring.
Buena Park city council held a study session at their public meeting last Tuesday, introducing a myriad of workplace ideas – including strengthening hotel employee work environments, new work scheduling rules, fair pay rules for freelancers and a working animal rights law.
While no policy decision was made, council members said they wanted to make sure the business community is part of the discussion going forward as they explore some of the proposed laws.
Mayor Susan Sonne and Councilmember Connor Traut spearheaded the study session on the local ordinances.
“The mayor and I have been speaking with many local workers at different Buena Park businesses as well as multiple labor groups,” Traut said. “If there is direction to move forward, we also anticipate having discussions with local employers so that whatever we ultimately approve as a council is done in an inclusive process.”
Traut added if businesses have union agreements in place, the local ordinances could be waived and he hopes that by enacting ordinances, it will empower workers and set clear standards in the workplace.
Councilmember Joyce Ahn abstained from giving guidance on the ordinances.
“I think we have federal and state laws, and I think we should just follow it and stay out of private businesses,” Ahn said.
City council members also called for a separate meeting to discuss protections for hotel workers.
Buena Park wouldn’t be the first city to implement a hotel worker protection ordinance.
Unite Here Local 11, a hotel workers union, tried to enact a ballot measure that would have increased the minimum wage for hotel employees in Anaheim to $25 and mandated employers give maids panic buttons.
The measure however overwhelmingly failed in a special election last year after hoteliers, resort interests and officials like Anaheim City Councilwoman Natalie Rubalcava criticized the ballot measure.
Rubalcava instead successfully proposed an ordinance that only focuses on hotel housekeepers protections and not greater pay for workers that went into effect this year.
Now, she’s likely face a recall election this year backed by the same hotel workers union.
One of the biggest workplace laws Buena Park officials seemingly won’t consider down the road is a local minimum wage ordinance that sets minimum pay slightly higher than state limits.
According to a Buena Park staff report, around 40 cities have adopted a local minimum wage ranging from $16.50 to $19.08 whereas the state minimum wage is $16.
The report also says that next month across the state fast food workers will receive $20 an hour and healthcare facilities workers will see an increase to $23 an hour beginning in June.
One of the new proposed laws dubbed the fair work week ordinance would require employers to give workers at least two weeks of scheduling, extra or overtime payment for last minute scheduling changes and the right for an employee to deny working another shift less than 10 hours from their last shift.
Similar ordinances have been applied in Los Angeles, Berkeley and Emeryville, according to a staff report.
The other proposal dubbed the family friendly ordinance, adopted by the city of Berkeley according to a staff report, requires employers to give a reason to deny time off within 21 days of the employee’s request.
Another proposed law called the freelance worker protection ordinance would outline fair pay rules for freelance workers and require them to receive a written contract if they receive more than $600 in a calendar year from the same company.
Officials are exploring making a local working animal protection ordinance that would impact Knott’s Berry Farm and Medieval Times and potentially make stricter rules than state law.
At public comment during the Feb. 13 council meeting, Jake Bowman, told council members about the alleged mistreatment of horses and unfair working standards at his former workplace – something workers there went on strike over last year.
“Our laws don’t protect people, they protect corporations and even when those corporations break laws, the remedy is often so small and insignificant that it makes more financial sense for them to continue breaking it,” Bowman said.
Bowman said he’s dealt with “a culture of harassment, low wages and animal abuse.”
Councilmember Art Brown pointed out that only one complaint was made about horses and if there was an issue, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals should be brought in.
City Manager Aaron France said animal control was brought in to investigate the complaint but the results didn’t show any mistreatment of animals.
Meanwhile, city officials are engaging businesses to get their input before considering ordinances at a later date.