LOS ANGELES —The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors April 4 unanimously approved a proposal authored by Chair Janice Hahn and co-authored by Supervisor Hilda Solis to fix a longstanding injustice that left contracted janitorial and food workers at LA County Hospitals unable to afford healthcare.
Los Angeles County hospitals depend on a contracted workforce of over 2,000 security, janitorial, environmental, and food service workers to operate. While LA County requires that contractors pay their employees a living wage, they are not currently required to offer employer paid healthcare benefits.
The motion, which passed unanimously, requires that all new Proposition A contracts for security, janitorial, environmental and food services at County Hospitals managed by the Department of Health Services to require 100% employer-paid healthcare benefits for employees who work 30 hours or more per week at the minimum level of the Affordable Care Act Gold Level. The motion also requires that these contracts include a labor peace agreement.
The new requirement will be implemented no later than by the end of this year. The proposal would also direct the county’s CEO to explore options for implementing this policy for contracted workers at departments outside of the Department of Health Services.
Read the full motion here.