San Francisco's Small Business Commission rejected a policy initiative Wednesday that would have required businesses to give laid-off workers a "right of first refusal" to reclaim their former jobs when they started rehiring — and given them back their old salaries as well, if feasible.
The initiative, from San Francisco Supervisor Gordon Mar, drew a tepid response at best from most of the commissioners, all of whom are small business owners.
"This is typical well-intended legislation that has left our small businesses in the city so vulnerable that they can't even get through the pandemic," said Commissioner William Ortiz-Cartagena. "This isn't the right time."
The initiative would apply to any company that lays off 10 or more San Francisco employees within a 30-day period, retroactive to late February. It came under opposition early on from business groups and for that reason had already been amended, for instance, to exclude businesses with more than 75 workers and most health care providers.
Edward Wright, legislative aide to Mar, said the policy was necessary to protect low-income workers who may not be rehired at their old salaries, if at all, by former employers, despite their seniority. But several commissioners said they had not yet seen evidence that the problem was widespread enough to justify a new citywide, proactively enforced law.