Tuesday, March 16, 2021
On March 1, 2021, the City Council of San Mateo, California, adopted “An Emergency Ordinance Requiring Large Grocery Stores and Large Drugstores to Provide Hazard Pay to their Employees” to ease the burdens caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. San Mateo is an incorporated city located in the San Francisco Bay Area. The ordinance requires large grocery stores and drug stores in San Mateo to provide their workers with hazard pay of $5.00 per hour in addition to their hourly “base wages” or “holiday premium wages.” The ordinance took effect on March 1, 2021, and will expire on May 30, 2021, unless reenacted.
Covered Employers
The ordinance defines covered employers as “any Person who (a) directly or indirectly or through an agent or any other Person owns or operates a Grocery Store or a Drugstore and employs or exercises control over the wages, hours or working conditions of any Covered Employee; and (b) employs 750 or more employees nationwide regardless of where those employees are employed.”