On Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed an urgency and temporary ordinance that requires larger grocery retail and drug retail stores located in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles 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 area of the County of Los Angeles
- With more than 10 employees per store
- 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, 2021.
“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 Los Angeles 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.”
If you are a worker or a business owner seeking more information about LA County’s new temporary “Hero Pay” Ordinance, contact DCBA:
- Phone: (800) 593-8222
- Email: heropay@dcba.lacounty.gov
- Website: lacounty.gov/heropay
To find out if a grocery retail or drug retail store is in unincorporated Los Angeles County, visit the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk website at lavote.net/precinctmap and select “District Map Look Up By Address”.
To assist businesses affected by the pandemic, DCBA launched the County of Los Angeles Disaster Help Center to connect business owners and others with available resources. Contact the Disaster Help Center:
- Phone: (833) 238-4450
- Email: DisasterHelpCenter@LACounty.gov
- Website: lacountyhelpcenter.org
