Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti demonstrated the face coverings that Angelenos will be required to wear. (photo courtesy of Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office)

People entering grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants and essential businesses that remain open are required to wear masks or face coverings under an order issued on April 7 by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.

The order, which goes into effect on Friday, April 10, also requires employees at businesses to wear masks or face coverings, and requires employers to provide masks or reimburse employees who purchase them. The face coverings are necessary to protect members of the workforce and public during the COVID-19 pandemic, Garcetti said.

“We need to protect every worker on the front lines of this crisis,” Garcetti added. “Each one of us is a first responder in this emergency. Every employer should keep employees safe, and so should Angelenos patronizing these businesses. Cover up. Keep your distance. Save lives. It’s that simple.”

The mayor’s order also mandates that businesses implement social distancing measures of at least 6 feet, and that employers provide access to restrooms with soap and sanitizers. Employees are required to wash their hands every 30 minutes. Businesses are allowed to refuse service to customers who do not wear masks or face coverings.

Garcetti also asked grocery stores, pharmacies and similar businesses to voluntarily install plexiglass barriers between cashiers and customers as an added safety measure.

The mayor’s announcement was made hours after the Los Angeles City Council declined to approve an emergency motion by Councilman Paul Koretz, 5th District, that was similar, but largely symbolic.

Many of the council members said mandates for masks to be worn should come from leaders in charge of the emergency management response, and the council referred Koretz’s motion to the Health, Education, Neighborhoods, Parks, Arts and River Committee.

Council members introduced other motions at the April 7 meeting to further ease the burden on renters during the public health emergency. The city has already placed a moratorium on residential and commercial evictions and water and power shutoffs during the emergency, and has banned rent increases on rent-stabilized housing. Councilmen David Ryu, 4th District, and Mike Bonin, 11th District, introduced a package of motions calling for additional tenant protections.

The Ryu and Bonin motions include a ban on all evictions during the COVID-19 public health emergency, except in situations when it is necessary to protect the health and safety of others in a building. Under previous emergency orders, landlords are prohibited from issuing “no fault” evictions during the emergency but are allowed to evict tenants for other reasons, such as rule violations. Ryu said the extended protections are necessary because he has received reports of property owners attempting to evict tenants for reasons such as not paying rent. Under current emergency orders, tenants who demonstrate hardships caused by the COVID-19 emergency have up to 12 months after the emergency is lifted to repay back rent, and commercial tenants have three months to repay.

Ryu and Bonin also introduced a motion to amend the city’s Responsible Banking Ordinance to encourage banks that do business with the city to disclose plans for mortgage and rent relief. It also calls for prioritizing banks that help renters and working families when negotiating future contracts.

A third motion introduced by the councilmen would reclassify rent debt as consumer debt, which cannot be collected through lawsuits under state law, Ryu said. The move would bar property owners from suing tenants to recover back rent, encouraging them instead to work more closely with tenants to establish repayment plans or other remediation.

Ryu and Bonin also introduced a motion calling for council support for state and federal legislation to enact rent freezes and rent forgiveness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Decisions on rent freezes and forgiveness programs would have to be made at the state or federal level. So far, no such programs have been announced.

“We are in an economic crisis unlike anything we’ve ever seen, and our government is not meeting the severity of this moment with the strength required,” Ryu said. “People have been forced out of work, they’re scared and they’re running out of money. If we want to avoid widespread default, an explosion of homelessness and millions of people trapped under mountains of debt, we need rent and mortgage forgiveness now.”

Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez, 6th District, Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez, 7th District, and Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, 13th District, introduced a separate motion on April 7 calling for federal legislators to include more funds for tenants, landlords and mortgage holders in future federal relief packages, and to extend protections such as rent forgiveness.

“In order to give the expansive relief that renters and mortgage holders need, additional action must be taken at the federal level in the form of forgiveness or cash assistance to avoid the next wave of homelessness,” said O’Farrell, who recently encouraged Gov. Gavin Newsom to also consider statewide rent and mortgage forgiveness. “Real relief to keep people housed, both during the pandemic and after, requires collaboration at all levels of government. Once this pandemic is over, the recovery will be hard enough without people having to worry about how they’ll make ends meet, stay housed and meet their financial obligations.”

Ryu also introduced a motion on Tuesday to provide relief to artists during the emergency health order by repurposing arts development fee funds so they can be used as small grants to artists and arts nonprofits. In the 4th District, as much as $1.2 million in arts development fee funding could be available, and $10.9 million could be available citywide. Ryu said much of the funding had been previously earmarked to support public festivals and special events, many of which have been canceled due to the pandemic.

“Los Angeles is the creative capital of the world, but our creatives are suffering right now,” Ryu said. “The economic turmoil caused by the coronavirus pandemic has put thousands out of work and arts nonprofits at risk of permanent closure, all while we have arts funds sitting idle. We are in an economic emergency, and we need to repurpose these funds now to save our creative economy from permanent, lasting damage.”

The motions introduced on April 7 will be considered at future City Council meetings, and dates have not yet been established.