Ordinance requires panic buttons, security, training measures for hotel workers

Today, a longtime housekeeper at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel San Pedro filed a class action lawsuit against the hotel alleging violations of the Los Angeles Hotel Worker Protection Ordinance (“Ordinance”), which the City of Los Angeles adopted in June 2022. While similar ordinances have passed in Irvine, Seattle, Oakland, Santa Monica, Emeryville, Glendale, West Hollywood, and Long Beach, this is the first lawsuit to be brought under the Los Angeles Ordinance. The workers are represented by Lauren Teukolsky of Teukolsky Law and Zoe Tucker of UNITE HERE Local 11.

The Ordinance protects Los Angeles hotel workers against the risk of sexual assault by implementing panic buttons and other measures, and it guarantees housekeepers fair compensation when their workload exceeds proscribed limits.

The lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that even after DoubleTree housekeepers reported several violations out of concern for their wellbeing, the hotel failed to comply with the safety provisions of the Ordinance, which went into effect in August 2022. The lawsuit alleges that the DoubleTree failed to provide functioning panic buttons, failed to hire 24-hour security to respond to panic button calls, delayed for months to post the required notice of the Ordinance on guest room and restroom doors, and failed to provide adequate training to workers.

Plaintiff Bethsabe Alvarez, who has worked as a housekeeper at the DoubleTree for more than 15 years, said, “It is frustrating that my coworkers and I fought so hard to pass this law for our own safety as housekeepers, but it’s been over a year and we still don’t have full-time security or working panic buttons. We do not feel valued as human beings.”

Lauren Teukolsky, who represents the workers, adds, “We hope this lawsuit sends a message to all Los Angeles hotels that they are required to comply with the Ordinance immediately. Housekeepers should not have to risk their own personal safety for a paycheck.”

UNITE HERE Local 11 is a labor union representing over 32,000 hospitality workers in Southern California and Arizona who work in hotels, restaurants, universities, convention centers, and airports.

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