$4 Hazard Pay Ordinance Approved By King County Council

KING COUNTY, WA — King County council members voted overwhelmingly to approve a new hazard pay ordinance Tuesday, requiring that large grocers operating outside city limits pay their workers an extra $4 per hour until the coronavirus crisis is over.

The legislation passed 8-1, opposed only by 9th District Councilmember Reagan Dunn, and is slated to take effect on March 22.

King County's measure for unincorporated areas closely resembles earlier ordinances passed in Seattle and Burien and does not apply to convenience stores, farmers markets, or food marts with "limited lines of goods." The Stranger reports an amendment introduced by Councilmember Girmay Zahilay further exempts stores in communities with limited grocery options and independent chains with few locations. Councilmember Rod Dembowski told the Stranger he expected the rule would ultimately apply to less than a dozen stores.

After Seattle approved hazard pay in January, two grocery groups filed a lawsuit calling the city's mandate unfair and illegal. In February, QFC said it would fast-track the closure of two "underperforming stores," pinning much of the blame on the ordinance.

But proponents of hazard pay argue the nation's top grocers have reaped massive earnings during the pandemic, including a 90 percent surge in profits at Kroger, QFC's parent company, in the first half of 2020. While many grocery chains voluntarily offered hazard pay early on, most stopped last summer, well before a destructive third wave of infections.

"In May of 2020, large grocery stores cut the hazard pay of workers," said Sarah Cherin, executive president of UFCW 21. "Since then, these frontline essential workers have served our communities and their employers who have banked billions in record profits."

King County's ordinance also cites a Boston study that found grocery store workers at a much higher chance of infection and noted they do not have the option to work remotely.

"Grocery employees are essential workers performing services that are fundamental to the economy and health of the community," one passage of the ordinance reads. "They cannot choose to work from home and must come to work to perform their jobs, which can involve substantial interactions with customers."

The ordinance is scheduled to take effect on March 22 and will remain in place until the King County Executive's state of emergency declaration is terminated.

Read the full text of King County's hazard pay ordinance online.