Committee forwards short extension of grocery/pharmacy hazard pay amid divided public comment

The committee voted May 6 to forward a request to reenact an emergency ordinance that temporarily requires certain grocery stores, pharmacies and related contractors to pay employees an additional $5 per hour during the public-health emergency. The reenactment would extend the ordinance’s termination date from May 19 to June 15 to align with anticipated state reopening timelines.

Ali G., chief of staff for Board President Shamann Walton, presented the proposal and argued the extension is needed while many workers remain at risk and while vaccination and two-dose timelines continue. "We're not fully there yet," Ali G. said, urging a four-week extension to match the state’s reopening plan and to protect commuting essential workers.

Public comment split along familiar lines. Labor representatives and grocery workers from UFCW locals urged extension, pointing to ongoing exposure risks, the presence of unvaccinated and partially vaccinated employees, and the role hazard pay played in morale and recognition of frontline service. John Gomez, a 13-year grocery worker, said the policy had not caused the store closures some opponents predicted and urged renewal.

Retail and industry groups including the California Retailers Association and California Grocers Association urged letting the emergency policy expire, arguing that San Francisco’s move into the yellow tier and improving vaccination rates remove the original justification and that mandated premium pay would raise operating costs and consumer prices.

Committee members reiterated that the ordinance applies only to employers with 500 or more employees, not small neighborhood stores, and voted unanimously to forward the reenactment as a committee report to the Board of Supervisors meeting on May 11.

What happens next: The item will appear as a committee report at the full Board meeting on May 11; the proposed reenactment would extend the ordinance through June 15 if the Board adopts the committee recommendation.