Legislators OK new bill for displaced workers

The California Legislature on Thursday passed a bill requiring some hotels and other hospitality companies to offer laidoff workers their jobs back.

Hospitality companies were some of the hardest hit by the state’s stay-at-home order, with no people to stay in hotels while empty office buildings and deserted airports needed fewer janitors and food service workers.

With companies preparing to resume normal operations, Democrats who control the state Legislature said they wanted to make sure laid-off hospitality workers are first in line to get their old jobs back. The bill requires hotels, private clubs and janitorial service companies to let their former employees know when their jobs are available again and give them five days to decide on whether they want to come back.

Senate Bill 93 is different than a similar bill Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed last year. It only applies to workers who had their job for at least six months before the pandemic started and were laid off specifically because of the pandemic. Also, laid-off workers can’t file lawsuits to enforce the law. Instead, the Division of Labor Standards has “exclusive jurisdiction” to enforce it. And the bill will automatically expire Dec. 31, 2024, unless lawmakers agree to extend it.

Newsom has not said if he will sign the bill into law. But lawmakers used the budget process to pass the bill, meaning the governor’s office was part of the negotiations.

The bill applies to hotels with 50 or more rooms, and event centers — including stadiums, arenas, racetracks and convention centers — that have at least 50,000 square feet or 1,000 seats used for public performances or meetings.

Businesses that don’t comply could be hit with fines of $500 per employee per day.

Jobless claims down in state, U.S.

Unemployment claims in California and across the U.S. plunged to their lowest level in three months.

Workers across the state filed 69,900 initial claims for jobless benefits during the week ending April 10, a sharp drop of 75,600 from 145,500 claims filed the prior week, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.

In the weekly claims report, the number of claims filed last week is the lowest in nearly three months. During the week ending Jan. 23, California workers filed 53,300 unemployment claims.

Nationwide, workers filed 576,000 initial claims for unemployment during the week ending April 10, a decrease of 193,000 from 769,000 jobless claims the previous week, Labor Department data shows.

Theater chain closes for good

Pacific Theaters, which operates about 300 screens in California, including the ArcLight theaters and the historic Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, said Monday that it will not be reopening.

“This was not the outcome anyone wanted, but despite a huge effort that exhausted all potential options, the company does not have a viable way forward,” a Pacific Theaters representative said in a statement.

The company thanked its employees, guests and members of the film industry for the years of support. “It has been an honor and a pleasure to serve you,” the statement said.

Billionaire’s conference returns

The Milken Institute will hold its annual conference in person in October after going virtual last year.

The event, organized by billionaire financier Michael Milken’s think tank, will take place in Beverly Hills Oct. 1720. Some parts of the conference will be livestreamed, organizers said.

Focusing on the theme of “Charting a New Course,” it will be held at the Beverly Hilton hotel and delve into the disruptions and innovations wrought by the global pandemic. The event has historically gathered some of the world’s most influential people.

A representative for the Milken conference said it’s working out on-site details with health experts and is keeping government guidelines in mind.