Volume 24, Issue 2 | Fall 2024 Newsletter (September 2024)

News from Oakland City Attorney

Barbara J. Parker

Dear Friends and Fellow Oaklanders:

Our Office had a busy summer! This newsletter highlights:

1. Elevator Maintenance Ordinance: On July 30, the Oakland City Council passed this law to ensure that Oakland renters, with mobility-related disabilities or other physical restrictions, have access to working elevators in their apartment buildings;
2. City Attorney received State of California Grant: The State of California awarded our Office a grant to hire an attorney to enforce state labor laws that protect workers’ rights; 
3. Lawsuit against owner and operator of Radisson Hotel Oakland Airport: In June, our Office filed this lawsuit regarding violations of Oakland’s minimum wage law;
4. Some recent legal successes; and
5. City Attorney organized and co-sponsored presentation regarding California Reparations Task Force’s important work.

The newsletter wraps up with a spotlight on a key member of the City Attorney team, Cynthia Andrada, Supervisor of Legal Administrative Assistants.

In addition to the matters featured in this issue, our office recently received media attention regarding a lawsuit we filed against Southwest Airlines for violating Oakland and California paid sick leave laws.

Like all our work, the matters featured in this newsletter reflect our commitment to high-quality legal work that advances and protects the rights and the best interests of the City of Oakland and Oakland residents without fear or favor.

Wishing you all the best as fall gets into full swing,

Elevator Maintenance Ordinance Takes Effect on December 15, 2024

On July 30, the Oakland City Council adopted an ordinance to ensure that Oakland renters in elevator buildings have reliable access to working elevators and that renters with mobility-related or other physical restrictions are relocated if elevators are inoperable for more than 24 hours. This new law applies to buildings with three or more residential units and for the first time provides residents with mobility-related disabilities clear options for recourse. It will take effect on December 15 of this year.

The Elevator Maintenance Ordinance was crafted and sponsored by City Attorney Barbara J. Parker and co-sponsored by Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas, Council President pro tempore Dan Kalb, and Councilmembers Carroll Fife and Treva Reid. The new law requires that landlords conduct regular elevator maintenance to ensure that elevators remain operable at all times. It also requires that landlords provide advance notice to tenants when an elevator will be out of service for any period of time for regular maintenance.

“This ordinance addresses existing gaps in state and local laws to ensure Oakland renters who rely on an elevator to reach their apartments have reliable access to their homes. I am grateful to our City Council for providing these critical protections for tenants with mobility-related disabilities or other physical restrictions that will enable them to have reliable access to their homes.” – City Attorney Barbara J. Parker

OCA Awarded State Worker Protection Grant to Enforce State Labor Laws

In July 2024, the Oakland City Council passed a resolution accepting and appropriating a worker protection grant that the California Department of Industrial Relations awarded to the City Attorney’s Office (OCA). This year, California Labor Code section 181 also granted the City Attorney authority to enforce state labor laws. The Workers’ Rights Enforcement Grant fully funds the cost of hiring an attorney in our Affirmative Litigation, Innovation and Enforcement Division to investigate and civilly prosecute a larger volume of the state and local worker’s rights violations that occur in Oakland but exceed our current enforcement capacity. Through this grant, the City Attorney’s Office will continue to collaborate with Department of Workplace and Employment Standards and community partners to address wage theft and worker abuse in Oakland.

Litigation to Enforce Minimum Wage for Workers at Local Radisson Hotel

In June 2024, I filed a lawsuit on behalf of the City against Oakland Alameda Hotels LLC, owner and operator of the Radisson Hotel Oakland Airport, for minimum wage violations of Oakland law and failure to correct the violations and pay back wages to the workers as ordered by the City’s Department of Workplace and Employment Standards (DWES). In 2018, Oakland voters passed Oakland’s Hotel Workers Protection & Employment Standards Ordinance (Measure Z) to ensure safety, a humane workload, and minimum wage for hotel workers. The defendants, owners of Oakland Alameda Hotels, blatantly violated that law. Despite the City’s repeated attempts to secure compliance through its administrative process, the hotel owners failed to cooperate and refused to pay the restitution owed to the affected employees. Defendants owe $404,491 to 128 affected Oakland workers, many of whom are housekeepers and line staff, Spanish-speaking, and women. The case is City of Oakland v. Oakland Alameda Hotels LLC et al.

Recent Legal Successes

• In our last newsletter, we discussed a challenge to the November 2022 passage of Measure Y, the 2022 Oakland Zoo Animal Care, Education and Improvement Ordinance. As we noted previously, the court agreed with the City that because Measure Y is a voter-sponsored initiative, a simple majority vote was required to pass the measure, which it received. On June 24, 2024, the court granted the City’s motion to dismiss the remainder of Plaintiffs’ claims, ruling that Measure Y does not confer a special privilege or advantage on any corporation and the tax increase provision is not unreasonable, arbitrary or capricious. The court entered judgment in favor of the City. Plaintiffs have appealed the Court's ruling.
• In another update from our last newsletter, the Court issued a final judgment in the matter of People of the State of California and the City of Oakland v. James H. Chau, King V. Chau, Judy N. Chau, et al., awarding the City $2,460,900 in civil penalties; $10,500 in restitution; $15,249.24 in costs; and $1,336,627.06 attorneys’ fees. The City Attorney is taking steps to enforce the judgment. The judgment relates to a lawsuit that the City Attorney filed against three landlords for tenant harassment and exploitation, and for maintaining their properties in a manner that constituted a public nuisance. The landlords, who owned and managed several Oakland buildings, disregarded the most basic rules of property ownership and management, and ignored dozens of warnings from the City over many years regarding the illegal and dangerous conditions at their properties. The Court previously appointed a receiver to take control of the properties to address urgent safety issues and protect tenants from harassment.

OCA and Department of Race and Equity Co-Sponsored Presentation by Lisa Holder, Member of California’s Reparations Task Force re the Task Force’s Important Work

On July 17, 2024, Lisa Holder, a member of the California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans, delivered an outstanding presentation to City employees regarding the Task Force’s work and its final report. Our Office organized and co-sponsored the city-wide presentation with the City’s Department of Race and Equity. Lisa Holder is a nationally recognized, award-winning trial attorney with expertise in equal protection, education equity, employment discrimination, constitutional policing, and international human rights law, and President of the Equal Justice Society. The presentation included discussion of common myths and tropes about reparations, described the methodology of the Task Force, summarized the Task Force’s Report and Findings, and looked to the future of the Task Force. Well over 100 people attended the presentation and learned about this important issue.                   

This presentation was coordinated by our Office’s Race and Equity Team and the Department of Race and Equity consistent with our mission and the City’s policy to strive to be informed and to take into account race and equity in implementing City policies, programs, laws, budgeting, and funding.

City Attorney Team Spotlight:

Supervising Legal Administrative Assistant Cynthia S. Andrada

Cynthia S. Andrada is Supervising Legal Administrative Assistant (LAA) and a member of the Office of the City Attorney’s Operations Team. She has been an employee of the City of Oakland for 27 years. Cynthia began her career with the Office of the City Attorney as a Legal Secretary, providing support for litigation attorneys who worked in the Law and Motion and Appeals Unit and handled high exposure cases. Cynthia also served five years as an Executive Assistant to the Chief Assistant City Attorney of our Advisory Division.

“Cynthia is a stellar public servant. She is invariably dedicated to providing the highest level of service and to producing excellent work product. As supervisor of the LAAs, Cynthia is collaborative, supportive and builds a sense of teamwork. Without fail, Cynthia is willing to step in to assist with filing and finalizing major legal documents, including but not limited to briefs, motions, and exhibits. Her work is critical to the success of the Office. It is a pleasure to work with Ms. Andrada.” – City Attorney Barbara J. Parker

Prior to joining the Office of the City Attorney, Ms. Andrada worked for seven years as a Legal Secretary in a private law firm that specialized in Personal Injury, Probate, Family Law and Criminal Law.

Cynthia also brings invaluable experience, expertise, and leadership to the Office of the City Attorney’s Operations Team.