The State of California Department of Industrial Relations recently announced that Anaheim Marriott hotel allegedly did not follow a worker-recall California law in effect until December 31, 2025, that says workers employers laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic should get their jobs back based on how long they’ve worked at the company. An investigation found that the hotel broke this rule after reopening in 2021. Even though some workers had been with the hotel for many years, Marriott hired new people or used staffing agencies instead.
Because of this, the hotel now must pay $12.5 million to 28 workers who were affected. Some of these workers had been at the hotel for over 40 years and were not given the chance to return.
The Labor Commissioner’s Office (LCO) started the investigation in 2022 after reports were made. They found that the hotel didn’t give the former workers a fair chance to get their jobs back.
Here is a link to the Department of Industrial Relations news release.
(See Link(s): Labor Code Sections 2810.8)