Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

We previously wrote about the San Diego County face-covering mandate. On April 7, 2020, the City of Los Angeles joined San Diego County and issued an Order (the “Order”) that requires certain workers to wear cloth face coverings. Notably, the Order is more expansive than San Diego County’s face-covering mandate because it covers workers in more occupations, applies to customers and visitors of certain businesses, provides face-covering maintenance requirements, and requires certain employers to furnish face coverings and other sanitary products.

Covered Workers and Employers

 Beginning on April 10, 2020, certain workers in the city of Los Angeles must wear fabric face coverings over their noses and mouths while performing their work. Covered Workers are those that work at certain essential businesses or perform services for those businesses, including:

• Food retail, including grocery stores, direct-to-consumer and direct-to-business food shipping and delivery services, and food facilities that prepare and offer food via delivery, pick-up, or drive-thru;
• Household consumer products retail;
• Provision of necessities of life services for economically disadvantaged or otherwise needy individuals;
• Construction and building supply;
• Household and commercial services, including plumbing, electrical, extermination, custodial, and moving services;
• Laundry services;
• Private transportation services, including taxis and ride-sharing services; and
• Hotels, motels, and shared rental units.

Permissible fabric face coverings include items such as scarves and bandanas. Additionally, the Order requires Covered Workers to wash reusable fabric face coverings at least once a day and properly discard single-use fabric face coverings.

The Order also requires employers of all Covered Workers to provide, at their expense, fabric face coverings for their employees and must ensure that employees have access to clean, sanitary restrooms, stocked with necessary sanitation products. Additionally, covered employers must permit employees to wash their hands at least once every thirty (30) minutes and, to the extent possible, must implement measures to provide a six-foot buffer for customers, visitors, and employees.

Covered Customers and Visitors

Beginning on April 10, 2020, customers and visitors of businesses and organizations with Covered Workers must wear fabric face coverings over their noses and mouths, and owners and operators of those businesses and organizations may refuse admission or service to any individual who fails to wear a required fabric face covering.

Additional Notes

A Violation of the Order constitutes a misdemeanor punishable by fines and imprisonment. Unlike some California COVID-19-related orders, the Mayor of the City of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, urges enforcement of the Order.

Employers in the City of Los Angeles with questions should seek guidance from counsel to determine whether they are subject to these new requirements.