On March 30, 2021, the Concord City Council passed an urgency ordinance (on a 5-0 vote) requiring large grocery stores to pay an additional $5 per hour of hazard pay to grocery retail workers in Concord, effective immediately. “Large Grocery Stores” refers to grocery stores with more than 300 employees nationwide.
The mandate will last for 120 days from the effective date or until Contra Costa County moves into the Yellow Tier of California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, whichever is later.
The decision by the full Council follows consideration of this item by Concord’s Policy Development & Internal Operations (PD&IO) committee, which recommended adoption of the ordinance.
Large grocery stores or covered employers who are already providing a premium hourly rate to compensate their employees for working during the COVID-19 pandemic shall be allowed to credit those payments against the hazard pay required under the ordinance. For example, if Store X is already paying a $2 per hour premium to their employees, the hazard pay required by this ordinance will be reduced by $3 per hour.
Read the ordinance.
Read the staff report.
Watch the March 30, 2021 Council meeting.