Former Anaheim Marriott employees receive shares of nearly $3 million settlement over pandemic layoffs
ANAHEIM, Calif. (KABC) -- Former Anaheim Marriott employees who were laid off during the COVID-19 pandemic received settlement payments Tuesday after California labor officials determined the hotel violated state labor law.
Twenty-nine former employees gathered to celebrate the payout, which follows an investigation by the California Labor Commissioner's Office into the hotel's compliance with the state's right-to-recall requirements.
"Worker protections matter," speakers said during a news conference.
Roberto Medina, who said he worked in the hotel's engineering department for about a decade before being laid off during the pandemic, said he was never notified when the hotel reopened and began bringing workers back.
"They didn't call us back," Medina said.
"The bills didn't stop coming up so you start working difficult because we've got to start all over again from zero," he said.
California State Labor Commissioner Lilia Garcia-Brower said the state will enforce labor laws when employers fail to comply.
"I want to be very clear with employers that if you break the law in California, we are going to hold you accountable," Garcia-Brower said.
Garcia-Brower said California's right-to-recall law, created in 2021, required hospitality businesses to offer employees laid off because of the pandemic the opportunity to return to their jobs before hiring new workers.
Following a state investigation, the hotel was cited $12.5 million in 2024. The matter was later settled for just under $3 million, with the funds going to laid-off employees.
"When they reopen, they are to offer that job back to the workers following certain steps and Anaheim Marriott did not follow those steps in this case," Garcia-Brower said.
According to information provided at the event, each employee received between $50,000 and $130,000, based on the number of years they worked at the hotel.
Marriott was contacted for comment but had not responded.
