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Today, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors adopted Right of Recall and Worker Retention policies to protect workers in the janitorial, maintenance, security service, and hospitality industries in unincorporated LA County during this pandemic.

The “Right of Recall” ordinance ensures that workers who are laid off due to the pandemic have first right of recall to their jobs, when their employer is ready to bring employees back. The “Worker Retention” ordinance ensures that workers would get to keep their jobs in the event the business they work for gets sold because of the pandemic.

“These added protections give workers who have built careers and livelihoods in industries that have been absolutely decimated by this pandemic, the peace of mind that, as these businesses start to come back, their jobs will still be there for them,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn, who authored the motion.

The ordinances would only apply to hotels in the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County that contain 50 or more guestrooms or has earned gross receipts in 2019 exceeding $5 million, as well as businesses that employ 25 or more janitorial, maintenance or security service workers. Any of these employers that have a collective bargaining agreement in place would be exempt.

“This pandemic has highlighted the need to further strengthen protections for our workforce, particularly those in the leisure, hospitality, and retail industries. Workers in these industries are overwhelmingly people of color, who are already severely impacted by COVID-19, and we need to provide these hardworking employees and their families necessary protections at this critical time,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, who co-authored the motion. “This effort to protect these workers started 30 years with the launch of the Justice for Janitors campaign and now it culminates with a Board motion and ordinance that recognize that workers deserve to earn living wages and be safe during this pandemic. By adopting these permanent Right of Recall and Worker Retention policies, we will ensure people will have jobs to come back to once it’s time to return to work.”

Workers will have five days to respond to a recall notice. An amendment was made to the ordinance to ensure that workers who cannot return to work due to health concerns may use their remaining sick leave before accepting their job back.

Moreover, the ordinance leaves it to businesses to determine what jobs they need to bring back and at what time so that they can offer those jobs to the employees who meet the job description they need.

Today, the County of Los Angeles announced participation in the State of California’s ‘Great Plates Delivered’ initiative. With the support of the Board of Supervisors and with a partnership between the LA County Department of Workforce Development, Aging and Community Services (WDACS) and the Office of Emergency Management, LA County will provide three home-delivered meals a day to qualifying older adults and adults over 60 who are high-risk as determined by the CDC, while also stimulating the economy by bringing employees back to work from the restaurant, hospitality, and transportation industries.

Individual participants may apply for ‘Great Plates Delivered’ by calling 2-1-1. To be eligible for participation, individuals must meet requirements that includes age, inability to prepare or obtain meals, and are not currently receiving assistance from other state or federal nutrition assistance programs. Click here for a full list of requirements.

Restaurants interested in participating in the ‘Great Plates Delivered’ program should fill out an interest form by clicking here. Food providers will be selected based on factors that include their ability to meet volume and nutritional standards, and prioritize local jobs, worker retention, worker health and safety, and standards of equity and fairness in employment practices. The County is finalizing additional criteria which will be posted on this webpage in the days ahead.

LA County is launching the first phase of ‘Great Plates Delivered’ initiative with a partnership with UNITE HERE Local 11’s Hospitality Training Academy (HTA) as WDACS continues to work to expand the program with partnerships with local restaurants. HTA offers the only hospitality/food service training program in California that focuses on union employment, providing participants with an opportunity to secure career pathways with good wages and benefits. HTA will utilize its network of hotels and commercial kitchens to provide three meals a day to 1,500 individuals across the County.

The County will also partner with restaurants/food service providers, including small neighborhood food establishments, to provide meals through the ‘Great Plates Delivered’ program. To the extent possible, the County will assign participants to restaurants located in the same city or neighborhood.

"L.A. County is proud to partner with hospitality workers, restaurants, and cities to implement this innovative program to provide meals for seniors who are most in need,” Supervisor Barger said. “This collaborative effort bolsters local business, supports the regional economy, and ensures the well-being and care of at-risk seniors. This act of unity and creativity, which benefits so many in our community, is a win-win."

“The Great Plates Delivered program will allow us to expand the capacity of our current senior meals programming so that low-income older adults with health conditions could more easily adhere to physical distancing and infection control protocols,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis. “This program will also provide an economic stimulus to local businesses struggling to keep their doors open, so this is a win-win for all of us.”

“Since the inception of this pandemic, our elderly population has been the most vulnerable and disproportionately impacted community by COVID-19,” said Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. “This program will not only allow seniors to get the nutrition they need while at home, but will provide employment opportunities for union workers who need it the most.”

“With the speed of a great short order cook, the County has launched the Great Plates Delivered program,” said Supervisor Sheila Kuehl. “Eligible County seniors will now be able to get three square meals a day and the program will help keep our local restaurants in business as well. My deep thanks to the state, county leaders and our local food partners for getting this program up and running in a flash.”

“Through ‘Great Plates Delivered’, we will deliver meals straight to people who need to stay in their homes while also providing business to local restaurants that are struggling,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn. “Even though we are starting a phased reopening, the virus remains a serious health threat and we need to make sure people at higher risk can stay home.”

“This innovative program creates jobs for union and restaurant workers to craft nutritious meals and deliver them to older adults,” said Otto Solórzano, Acting Director of the LA County Department of Workforce Development, Aging and Community Services. “This is part of our continued effort to maximize the impact of every taxpayer dollar. We are creating jobs and combating hunger at the same time.”

Cities also have the option of implementing their own ‘Great Plates Delivered’ programs. As of now, the cities of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Bell Gardens and La Puente plan to implement local programs. Click here for a full list of participating counties and cities. LA County will implement ‘Great Plates Delivered’ in all cities and unincorporated areas in LA County that do not have their own locally operated programs.

‘Great Plates Delivered’ is jointly funded by FEMA (75% match), the State (18.75%), and local jurisdictions (6.25%). Per FEMA, the program will run until June 10, 2020. It is anticipated that the State will seek two additional 30-day extensions from FEMA which, if approved, would extend ‘Great Plates Delivered’ to as late as August 10, 2020.

For more information about the ‘Great Plates Delivered’ initiative in LA County, please click here. This webpage will be updated with new information as this new program is rolled out.

Following Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent announcement to add more than 80 community testing sites across the state focused on underserved communities, LA County is launching 8 testing sites. The new testing sites are opening on a rolling basis, over the course of this week and early next. These 8 sites are part of the 80 testing sites statewide powered through a partnership with OptumServe, the federal government health services business of Optum, a leading health services innovation company.

Testing will be by appointment only. Registration for all sites is now open.  While anyone can sign up for a test, prioritization will align with all LA County testing sites, including those who are symptomatic as well as those who are asymptomatic and in institutional settings, over the age of 65, have a chronic medical condition, or are an essential worker.  Anyone can sign up for an appointment, regardless of insurance or immigration status.  Individuals will not be charged at any test sites.

“We’re so pleased to partner with the state and OptumServe to help meet County and State goals for testing,” said Dr. Christina Ghaly, Director of Health Services for LA County.  “Our focus has been on expanding testing capacity among vulnerable populations and in underserved, at-risk, and low-income communities.  These new State-supported sites are an important part of the overall plan to expand testing access in areas that most need it.”

To determine where to locate new testing sites, the state and county looked at both rural and urban areas with currently limited access to testing sites, with consideration for underserved populations, racial and ethnic disparities, and median income, with a goal of enhancing equity so residents have access to testing regardless of socioeconomic status. The County also evaluated these recommendations in the context of the existing testing sites at the time of evaluation as well as proximity to nursing homes, homeless shelters, temporary housing units, and other congregate living facilities. Once opened, these additional OptumServe sites will bring the total number of community testing sites across Los Angeles County to 47.

OptumServe has extensive expertise in rapidly deploying and setting up health care services and has worked closely with the military under the leadership of former Army Surgeon General and retired Lieutenant General Patty Horoho, RN.

“OptumServe is honored to assist California in expanding COVID-19 testing for residents,” said Patty Horoho, CEO of OptumServe. “We are bringing our full commitment and capabilities to serve Californians, including extensive experience conducting large community health events.”

“Thanks to LA County and to OptumServe for the collaboration to make these testing sites possible,” said Charity Dean, M.D., Assistant Director of the California Department of Public Health. “We’re working together as part of the state’s Testing Task Force to ensure regions with the greatest need have access to tests, and these sites are going to be a major component in reaching our testing goals.”

About these Sites:

Opened Early this Week

1. ChapCare, 1595 N. Lake Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91104
2. West Jordan High School, (Jordan Plus High School) 171 W. Bort St. Long Beach, 90805

Scheduled for May 7

1. Cal State LA, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90032 (Rongxiang Xu Bioscience Innovation Center building, 1900 block of Paseo Rancho Castilla, across the street from Public Safety Building)
2. Santa Monica College (SMU) 2800 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90405 (also known as the "Airport" satellite campus)
3. Hawthorne Memorial Center - Betty Ainsworth Sports Center, 3851 W El Segundo Blvd, Hawthorne, CA 90250

Scheduled for May 11

1. ChapCare, 10408 Vacco Street, Suite A South El Monte CA 91733
2. Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, 21840 Normandie Ave, Torrance, CA 90502
3. County of LA Crenshaw Area Office, 3606 West Exposition Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90016

To Register for these sites: Please visit lhi.care/covidtesting

For more information on all available county testing sites, please visit: https://covid19.lacounty.gov/testing/

Temperatures in parts of Los Angeles County are expected to rise into the 90s midweek. As a result, several public facilities located throughout the County will open and serve as Emergency Cooling Centers on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. These centers provide members of the public who lack air-conditioning at home with relief from the heat, free of charge. All centers will be open from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m, and will operate in compliance with physical distancing and other safety criteria from the current Health Officer Order.

Currently, a total of 8 Emergency Cooling Centers have been identified and will operate in areas based on heat forecasts and regions identified by the National Weather Service and the Department of Public Health, respectively. More locations may be added and or extended based on existing weather conditions. To obtain the most current list of the County’s Emergency Cooling Centers or view a map of these sites, visit ready.lacounty.gov/heat or dial 2-1-1.

The County also reminds all members of the public to take the following extra precautions during hot weather:

• Avoid the sun – stay indoors from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. when the burning rays are strongest.
• Drink plenty of fluids – 2 to 4 glasses of water every hour during times of extreme heat.
• Replace salt and minerals – sweating removes salt and minerals from your body, so replenish these nutrients with low sugar fruit juices or sports drinks during exercise or when working outside.
• Avoid alcohol.
• Pace yourself – reduce physical activity and avoid exercising outdoors during peak heat hours.
• Wear appropriate clothing – wear a wide-brimmed hat and light-colored lightweight, loose-fitting clothes when you are outdoors.
• Stay cool indoors during peak hours – set your air conditioner between 75° to 80°. If you don’t have air conditioning, take a cool shower twice a day and/or visit a County Emergency Cooling Center. Find a local emergency cooling center at  ready.lacounty.gov/heat.
• Monitor those at high risk – check on elderly neighbors, family members and friends who do not have air conditioning. Infants and children up to 4 years old, people who overexert during work (e.g. construction workers) and people 65 years and older are at the highest risk of heat-related illnesses.
• Use sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15 if you need to be in the sun.
• Keep pets indoors – heat also affects your pets, so please keep them indoors. If they will be outside, make sure they have plenty of water and a shaded area to help them keep cool.

For more information on heat-related illnesses and prevention, please visit the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s website at publichealth.lacounty.gov.