THE Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed an urgency and temporary ordinance on Tuesday, February 23 that requires larger grocery retail and drug retail stores located in the unincorporated areas of the county to pay their employees no less than $5-per-hour hazard pay in addition to the employee’s base wage.

The new temporary “Hero Pay” Ordinance applies only to grocery stores, drug stores, or large retailers that sell groceries or drug products in the unincorporated areas of the county, with more than 10 employees per store, and which are part of a company that is either publicly traded or employs 300 or more people nationwide.

The Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA) will accept and investigate claims from workers of alleged violations of the ordinance, which will be in effect for 120 days beginning Friday, February 26.

“We understand that both workers and businesses are faced with significant challenges during this ongoing pandemic and we are here to help,” said Rafael Carbajal, director of the LA County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs. “Our role is to enforce the ‘Hero Pay’ ordinance and to ensure that workers know their rights and that businesses understand their responsibilities and remain in compliance.”

Workers must work at least two hours in a one-week period physically within a grocery retail or drug retail store in any unincorporated area of the County to be entitled to the new LA County “Hero Pay.”

Workers or business owners seeking more information about LA County’s new temporary “Hero Pay” Ordinance can contact DCBA by phone at (800) 593-8222, by email at [email protected] or by visiting the website at dcba.lacounty.gov/heropay.