Laid-off food workers claim their 'right to return' to jobs was violated at Hotel Figueroa

Los Angeles, CA - March 01: Isabela Piedrahita, center, shouts "Bring them back" as she joins dozens of demonstrators participating in a "water-in" at the Cafe Fig restaurant in support of more than a hundred workers who lost their jobs when the Hotel Figueroa's owner and its new operator failed to retain the workers when the new operator took over on Friday, March 1, 2024 in Los Angeles, CA. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Demonstrators participate in a "water-in" on March 1 at the Café Fig restaurant in the Hotel Figueroa in support of workers not retained when the new operator took over. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Two days after the food hospitality operator at a fashionable downtown hotel shuttered its restaurants and laid off its food and beverage employees, a new third-party management company moved in and hired a whole new set of workers, according to a complaint filed with the Los Angeles city attorney’s office.

The laid-off food and beverage laborers had attempted to unionize months earlier. They allege that Hotel Figueroa and hospitality operator the Botanical Group left them out of the hiring, potentially violating a city "right to return" law that requires that new hotel owners or new operators retain the site’s employees for a transitional period, according to the complaint.

A Feb. 21 letter addressed to the city attorney’s office asks for an investigation. A spokesperson for the office confirmed receipt of the complaint but wouldn't comment further on the matter.

“The company closed without retaining workers in violation of the recall law,” said Kurt Petersen, co-president of Unite Here Local 11, which is aiding the hotel workers in their effort. ”It is beyond outrageous to see wealthy companies … treat their long-standing workers like they are disposable.”

Read more: Restaurant workers wanted to unionize at this L.A. hotel. Now the restaurants are closing

The hotel is denying the premise of the workers' complaint.

In a prepared statement, a spokesperson for Hotel Figueroa said its ownership is “acting in accordance” with the Los Angeles Hotel Worker Retention Ordinance, which requires that new hotel owners or operators retain the site’s employees for a transitional period. The 2006 ordinance initially applied only to hotels in the LAX corridor. In 2022, a new hotel worker protection ordinance expanded the existing law to include all city hotels with more than 50 guestrooms.

The retention rule is intended to protect laid-off hotel workers so that if a hotel undergoes a change in control, the successor hotel employer is required to hire previous employees for a 90-day transition period and may not discharge these employees without cause.

Men walking out of the Hotel Figueroa with their fists in the air.
Pastor Mike Kinman, right, walks out of the Hotel Figueroa after demonstrating in support of restaurant workers who were laid off. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

The Hotel Figueroa spokesperson said there isn’t a new food and beverage operator in place, but that they are instead working with a “consultant to provide limited F&B [food and beverage] service.” Several former staff members of the former third-party management group returned to the hotel’s food and beverage outlets, she said, and they expect more will return in the next few weeks.

When asked how many non-managerial staff had been hired back, the spokesperson said the company wouldn’t comment further.