Thu, 04/29/2021
Effective May 1, 2021, hospitality and event center workers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, will have additional job protection rights. Under the City’s “Hospitality Worker Right to Recall Ordinance,” laid off workers have the right to be recalled – if they are needed – , before new workers are hired. The ordinance applies to hotels (establishments with at least 50 guest rooms) and event centers (buildings with at least 50,000 rentable square feet or 2,000 fixed seats that are used primarily for public events). Workers employed by businesses that operated in events centers, like caterers, retailers, and restaurants, are also protected.
Under the ordinance, an employer must notify laid off employees (in writing, by mail, email, and text message (if they have the information)) about all available job positions for which the employee is qualified. Employers must give laid off employees at least seven (7) calendar days to accept or the decline a return-to-work offer.
Laid off employees are those who worked for a hotel or event center for at least six (6) months in the year before March 13, 2020, and who were laid off after March 13, 2020 due to economic reasons. An employee is qualified if he or she held the same or a similar position when they were laid off, or can be qualified for the position with the same training any new hire would receive. If multiple laid off employees qualify for the same position, the one with the most seniority will be re-hired first.
The right to recall will last until one year after the State of Emergency in Minnesota and the Local Public Health Emergency in the City end. Employers who violate the ordinance may be ordered to pay compensatory damages (such as lost wages and benefits) to employees, and may be fined.
Minneapolis’ ordinance is the latest in a slew of similar laws enacted in major cities and states across the country. For example, the Displaced Workers Right to Reinstatement and Retention Amendment Act of 2020, which became effective April 27, 2021, grants recall rights to workers at hotels, restaurants, taverns, bars, and other similar venues, in the District of Columbia through June 30, 2023. The City of Baltimore and the City of Philadelphia have also extended recall rights to workers in the hospitality industry. In California, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 93, which provides recall rights for those employed by airport hospitality operations and service providers, “janitorial, building maintenance, or security services,” event centers, hotels with 50 or more guest rooms. Although the specifics of these laws vary, each intends to reduce the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospitality workers.
