It is expected that the working conditions of employees of retail chains, including Grocery Market, which have been experiencing inconveniences in daily life and difficulties in raising children due to frequent changes in working hours, will be greatly improved. From next year, employers of large retail chains in the city of Los Angeles must notify their employees in writing of the two-week work hours two weeks in advance, and must guarantee at least 10 hours of rest time after work until the next work day. .
While employers of large retail chains are clearly opposed, saying that the uniform application of the law will hinder management, active movements to form unions are being detected, and Korean grocery markets are also becoming more and more strict with LA City’s labor-related laws. We are keeping a close eye on the development of the situation while worrying about the repercussions.
According to the LA Times on the 23rd, the LA City Council passed the ‘Fair Work Week’ on the 22nd, which aims to provide transparent and predictable advance notice of working hours to large retail chains with stores in LA. made it
Under the Fair Week Labor Act, which will take effect in April next year, employers of large retail chains with 300 or more employees with stores in Los Angeles must notify their employees in writing of 14-day work hours two weeks prior to implementation. Even if the notice period of two weeks in advance has been complied with, if the working hours are reduced due to a change in the execution stage, part of the wages can be compensated, and the employee may refuse to work additional hours even if the employer asks for it.
In addition, the city bill must guarantee at least 10 hours of rest time between work and commuting to the next shift. This is intended to improve the practice of so-called “clopening,” in which an employee who has finished working at the grocery market closing time leaves late at night and works early the next morning. If you cannot guarantee more than 10 hours of rest time, you must pay additional wages accordingly.
When recruiting new personnel in the market, it is necessary to give the opportunity to apply to the employees who are working in advance by asking whether to apply. If an employer violates the Fair Week Labor Act, fines of up to $50 per day are levied.
The Fair Week Labor Law is legislated to eliminate the negative effects of having difficulties in living and raising children as employers unilaterally change working hours, as well as disrupting income due to unexpected changes in working hours. is the purpose of
According to a 2018 study by UCLA, 80% of grocery store employees experience unstable working conditions due to frequent change of hours at the request of their employers.
When the corporation goes into effect, more than 70,000 employees working at large grocery markets and retail chains such as Ralph’s, Target, Trader Joe’s, CVS, Rite Aid and Home Depot with more than 300 employees will directly benefit.
Large retail chains are expressing dissatisfaction with the passage of the bill. Criticism is pouring out that the application of a uniform law will intensify management pressure, pointing out the contradiction of having to be fined for adjusting working hours if an employee takes an unexpected leave.
Korean grocery markets in Los Angeles, which are looking forward to the passage of the Fair Week Labor Act, are in a position where they cannot just watch the fire across the river. Considering that behind-the-scenes work to promote the formation of a labor union is currently underway in Koreatown, there is a prospect that demands for improvement of working conditions, including working hours, wages, and overtime, will intensify as the time for enforcement of the law approaches.
There are also voices of concern that the movement to form a union for employees to voice their voice to demand improvement in working conditions could spread to the Korean grocery market.
A Korean American Grocery Market official said, “As various labor-related laws in LA City, including the minimum wage, are stricter for employers, the reality is that more attention is paid to compliance with labor laws.” It’s getting harder and I’m not as good as I used to be,” he said.