LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – A grocers group is suing the city of Long Beach, Calif., over an ordinance that makes grocery stores give workers a $4 per hour raise.
The California Grocers Association filed suit in federal court on Jan. 20 against the city over the measure it passed the day before. The “Premium Pay for Grocery Workers Ordinance” makes employers give the $4-an-hour bump despite any existing bonus, incentive or her pay program already in place.
The complaint notes the role grocery stores have played during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The ordinance unreasonably singles out specific employee classes in specific grocers,” the suit says.
The ordinance is barred by federal law regulating collective bargaining and unfair labor practices and violates the equal protection and contracts clauses of both the U.S. and California constitutions, the suit says.