GLENDALE : Proposed Laborer Ban Awaits Action

The Glendale city attorney’s office is preparing to submit an ordinance banning curbside job solicitation in the city to the City Council.

City Atty. Scott Howard said he will not present the ordinance for council review until after civil rights groups decide whether they will appeal a recent court decision upholding a similar law.

A state appellate court in April upheld an Agoura Hills measure that prohibits day laborers from soliciting work from passing motorists. The American Civil Liberties Union has said it may appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court.

Howard said how he advises the council to proceed on the issue will depend on whether the ACLU files an appeal. It’s important that the city have the Agoura Hills law to lean on in case civil rights groups decide to legally challenge any similar law Glendale might enact, Howard said.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a law similar to Agoura Hills’ last month, criminalizing curbside job solicitation in unincorporated areas of the county. The ordinance, scheduled to go into effect in July, makes curbside job-seeking a misdemeanor punishable by six months in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.

ACLU attorney Robin Toma said such laws stomp on the constitutional rights of day laborers--a majority of whom are Latino males.

Glendale council members asked the city attorney to draft the ordinance after complaints from business owners on San Fernando Road near a Home Depot store escalated.

As many as 125 day laborers crowd streets around the store. Some urinate in bushes planted near public sidewalks, while others litter and run out into the street looking for work, business owners said.

The proposed ordinance is based on safety issues and health concerns surrounding day laborers, Howard said. It is unsafe for the laborers to run into the street to solicit work and for motorists traveling down San Fernando Road, he added.

The ordinance would prohibit people from soliciting work or goods from public sidewalks, streets, driveways and parking lots throughout the city during particular times of the day.