The Irvine City Council recently approved an ordinance requiring better safety practices, higher pay in some areas, and a more balanced workload for hotel workers in the city.
The council approved the ordinance’s second reading Nov. 22 with a 3 to 1 vote—with Vice Mayor Anthony Kuo dissenting and Councilman Mike Carroll absent.
Under the new ordinance, which will take effect 30 days after its passage, hotel employers will be required to provide employees with a panic button, which can be used when housekeepers encounter personal safety risks or harassment by hotel guests.
“Back in May while I was working on my floor, a fully naked man stood at the doorway of the room to say, ‘Can you clean my room?’” an Irvine Hilton room attendant told the council during public comments on the matter in October.
Another housekeeper for the same hotel said since the pandemic, rooms are only cleaned once a guest checks out. She said this new practice has led to very dirty rooms that take much longer to clean.
“I often have to rush from floor to floor to finish them,” she said in Spanish at the October meeting.
Under the new law, hotel management will be required to adhere to a square footage limit a worker can clean in any given workday, depending on the size of the hotel. If exceeded, the worker is eligible to receive double pay for any additional area.
Shifts will also be limited to 10 hours unless written consent is given by the employee.
Daily room cleaning, which hotel workers say to be critical to reducing their workload, is required as well, but guests can still choose to opt out.
Oppositions
Several hotel managers spoke in opposition at the Nov. 22 meeting.“[The ordinance] includes elements that go far beyond worker safety and would impose sweeping operational mandates that are simply not manageable,” said Ryan Fitzpatrick, general manager for the Residence Inn at the John Wayne Airport.
Fitzpatrick said the hotel industry is recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to some of the worst years the industry has ever faced. With a probable recession on its way, he said, the changes would create “extreme hardships on hotels.”
Gabriella Gustafson, the general manager of the Residence Inn at the Irvine Spectrum, told councilors the hotel has already implemented safety-enhancing policies, including personal safety devices. Other hoteliers also said the devices have been employed at their locations as well.
She and other hotel managers additionally said that the council did not allow enough, if any, discussion or input from stakeholders.
One Irvine resident of 50 years suggested at the meeting that the council shouldn’t partake in managing the “employer and employee relationship” for businesses.
“You were not elected to do the work of unions. Other than the security device requirements, managing the hours, workload over time, and other items are simply not the responsibility of the city,” he said.
Some students from the University of California–Irvine attended the meeting to speak in favor of the ordinance.
“It is only fair that those who are the backbone of a proud industry in our city should be paid and treated fairly for their work,” a law student said.
