AB 647 – Effect on workers when grocery changes ownership
Starting January 1, 2024, the Protect Grocery Workers Jobs Act (AB 647) will protect grocery and warehouse workers’ jobs by strengthening existing statewide grocery worker retention laws and expanding coverage to warehouse workers.
Under existing law, when there is a change in control of a grocery establishment, an incumbent grocery employer is required to provide the successor grocery employer with a list of eligible grocery workers within 15 days after they sign the transfer document, and the successor grocery employer is required to hire from the preferential hiring list for 90 days and retain each eligible grocery worker hired for at least 90 days.
AB 647 expands the law by:
Excluding from the definition of a “grocery establishment” a retail store that has ceased operations for 12 months or more (instead of 6 months or more);
Including distribution centers that meet specified requirements within the meaning of “grocery establishment,” regardless of square footage (instead of being limited to a retail store that is more than 15,000 square feet in size);
Revising the information an incumbent grocery establishment is required to provide the successor grocery employer and requiring incumbent grocery employer to also provide the list of eligible grocery workers to any collective bargaining representatives;
Authorizing a successor grocery employer to obtain a list of eligible grocery workers from a collective bargaining representative if the incumbent grocery employer does not provide the information within 15 days;
Prohibiting employers from taking adverse action against an employee seeking to enforce their rights;
Authorizing an employee or employee representative to bring an action in the superior court so long as (a) the employee has provided written notice to the employer of the alleged violations of law and (b) the employer has not cured the alleged violation within 33 days from receipt of the written notice;
Authorizing the Labor Commissioner to enforce the law;
Making an employer, agent of the employer, or other person who violates or causes the law to be violated subject to civil penalties and liquidated damages; and
Requiring any collective bargaining agreement provisions that supersede the law to explicitly set forth the requirements that are superseded.
For further questions, please contact your labor law counsel.
By Jannah Manansala and Winnie Vien