The Prince George's County Council recently advanced CB-43-2021, a "Workers’ Right to Reinstatement and Retention" bill that would require event centers and hotels to recall and reinstate “eligible employees” who have been laid off after the COVID-19 state of emergency was enacted. The bill defines an “eligible employee” as: Any employee whose work was specifically for a commercial property employer, an event center employer or a hotel employer and most recent separation from employment:
Occurred on or after December 1, 2019, and
Was not due to either voluntary resignation without good cause, or misconduct
The legislation states that eligible employees will be reinstated to their previous positions or to positions performing the same or similar duties as those positions become available in the company. It should be noted that when more than one eligible employee qualifies to be reinstated for a position, the employer is mandated to offer the position to the employee with the greatest length of service. If this bill is enacted, the right of reinstatement will expire after June 30, 2024.
The full bill text can be found here if you want to read more.
