In another marathon meeting held on April 22, the Los Angeles City Council took steps to provide relief to workers and renters affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, but once again fell short of enacting a full moratorium on evictions.

In a unanimous vote, the Council instructed staff to draft two ordinances intended to provide protections for workers laid off due to the coronavirus pandemic.  The right of recall ordinance, as agreed upon by Councilmembers, is intended to block businesses from replacing laid-off or furloughed workers with cheaper labor when the economy improves.  It will apply to employees of:

  • hotels with 50 or more guess rooms or $5 million or more in gross receipts during 2019;
  • restaurants on hotel premises;
  • event centers of more than 50,000 square feet or 1,000 seats;
  • airport employers required to comply with the living wage ordinance; and
  • commercial properties with 25 or more maintenance, security, and janitorial workers.

Employees will have five days to respond to their employer's recall notice.

Councilmembers also voted to begin drafting a worker retention ordinance, which would require businesses to retain employees following a change in ownership.

In another unanimous vote, the Council moved to create an emergency rental relief program for tenants impacted by COVID-19.  The fund, which has been seeded with $2.2 million, will be made available to tenants earning 80 percent or less than the area median income. 

A rental subsidy would be paid directly to landlords on behalf of the tenant for up to 50 percent of monthly rent, with a maximum of $1,000 per month for three month through the expiration of the declaration of emergency.

However, three additional measures intended to assist renters fell short of adoption.

Councilmembers Mike Bonin, David Ryu, and Marqueece Harris-Dawson had proposed a citywide freeze on rent increases during the crisis, as well as a blanket moratorium on evictions.  Additionally, they called for reclassifying unpaid rent as consumer debt, meaning that it could not be subject to unlawful detainer proceedings.

Bonin, Ryu, and Harris-Dawson were joined by Councilmembers Jose Huizar, Paul Koretz, and Herb Wesson in support of the measures. 

Councilmembers Bob Blumenfield, Joe Buscaino, Gil Cedillo, John Lee, Nury Martinez, Mitch O’Farrell, and Monica Rodriguez voted against the proposals, citing concerns of legal liability expressed in a memo submitted by the Los Angeles City Attorney's office.

Councilmembers Paul Krekorian and Curren Price, both of whom own rental property, recused themselves from the vote.

While broader renter relief measures were ultimately rejected, Councilmembers did vote to extend a freeze on rent increases for the more than 620,000 apartments covered by the City's rent stabilization ordinance.  While an executive order from Mayor Eric Garcetti had temporarily halted such increases, the vote by the Council extends the protections for 360 days.