Redwood City approves hazard pay

Using what City Attorney Veronica Ramirez called a “belt and suspenders” approach, the council approved an urgency and regular ordinance requiring merchants with more than 750 employees nationwide to pay workers the additional $5 pay.

The urgency ordinance requires the employers to begin providing the pay immediately. The regular ordinance takes effect May 26 following a second reading April 26. Both measures will expire July 11 unless reenacted by the council.

The city now joins South San Francisco, Daly City, San Mateo and Millbrae in requiring the hazard pay.

The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors has also considered a similar measure but have yet to formally take up the item. San Carlos recently considered pursuing a so-called “heroes pay” ordinance but ultimately opted against it after taking into consideration potentially expensive legal battles.

The California Grocers Association has pledged to pursue legal action against any jurisdiction that institutes the extra pay laws, claiming that the requirements violate federal collective bargaining laws. The association has also argued extra pay ordinances unfairly single out the grocery industry, violating the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause.

“The city is well within its right to go ahead and obviously adopt a regular ordinance requiring hazard pay,” Economic Development Manager Simon Vuong said. “We just want to make sure we have all our bases covered in an event that there is a potential legal challenge.”

About 10 stores with 13 locations would fall under the ordinance according to staff research, including Costco, Grocery Outlet, Lucky’s, Nob Hill, Rite Aid, Smart and Final, Target, Whole Foods, two Safeways and three CVS.

The ordinance will apply to any store that devotes 10% or more of its space to selling groceries or devotes 70% of its business to selling pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food products and other goods.

Vuong said a credit would be given to any store that already offers its employees’ hazard pay and noted that not all grocery and drugstore employees are unionized. City funds would also not be expended to cover the program, he said.

Councilmember Lissette Espinoza-Garnica, who originally proposed the measure, pushed for the addition of two-weeks retroactive hazard pay, as done in South San Francisco. The recommendation failed to gain approval after staff noted the north county city only included the retroactive pay after its council had to postpone its discussion by two weeks.

Councilmember Diana Reddy also suggested the ordinance be modified to cover stores with 500 employees instead of the recommended 750. With Councilmember Michael Smith absent and Mayor Diane Howard and Councilmember Jeff Gee not in support of the change, the other four councilmembers opted for the higher figure to save the measure which needed five votes to pass.

“I don’t think this is a vote about 500 or 750. I think this is a vote about [whether we are] going to get an urgency ordinance or not,” Hale said.

Responding to comments regarding the limited numbers of industries included in the measure, Hale said she would vote for similar ordinances that covered other essential workers. She also called attention to the important role grocery workers play in the community when keeping stores open during the pandemic.

“It’s the bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy,” Hale said. “It’s giving you food so you can eat during this pandemic.”

In other business, the council also settled its conversation around accessory dwelling units, opting to permit 20-foot-tall detached additions but permitting an extra 4 feet to allow for a roof pitch. The height limit is a reduction of the city’s previous 28-foot ADU ordinance but an increase from a 16-foot limit initially approved but not finalized before new councilmembers took to the council.

Other privacy modifications were also made to the ordinance which prohibit clear windows on the second floor when facing adjacent neighbors to the side or back of the new structure. Stairways and balconies are also only permitted when facing the interior of the lot.

sierra@smdailyjournal.com

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