The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved an interim urgency ordinance on April 14 to protect retail grocery, drug store and food delivery workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The interim urgency ordinance went into effect immediately and requires all retail grocery and drug stores to establish sanitary practices and workplace safety protections, and provide sanitizing products and protective face coverings to help protect the health of customers, employees and delivery workers. Similar protections were already required in the city of Los Angeles as of April 10.

Authored by Supervisors Mark Ridley-Thomas, 2nd District, and Janice Hahn, 4th District, the county ordinance specifically requires employers to sanitize and stock all bathrooms with necessary supplies and clean stores and shopping carts between uses. It also requires employees to wash their hands every 30 minutes. Stores and businesses must provide sanitizing stations at entrances, provide adequate security to enforce social distancing, establish operating hours to restock and prohibit retaliation against employees exercising their rights.

“Grocery and pharmacy workers and food delivery drivers have unexpectedly found themselves at the forefront of the coronavirus pandemic, yet stores have not provided sufficient health or safety protections,” said John Grant, President of UFCW Local 770. “We thank Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas for leading the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to implement necessary measures that protect workers who are risking their health to serve their communities.”

Since the “Safer at Home” order was issued on March 21, retail grocery and drug stores have remained open to provide essential services. Many people who are particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus, including those 65 and older, have turned to store food delivery platforms.

“In the middle of this global health emergency our grocery store, delivery and drug store workers are now front-line responders,” Hahn said. “Their work is essential to keeping our county running and we need to make sure they have the tools they need to do their jobs safely. [This] ordinance ensures employers in these sectors are sufficiently staffed and are able to provide the protective and sanitary equipment employees need to keep themselves and the public healthy.”

For information, visit publichealth.lacounty.gov.