Ordinarily, if you sell a business, the new owner has no obligation to retain your employees unless you negotiate such retention as part of the sale. That remains generally true in California unless you are selling a grocery business.

California Labor Code Section 2500, et seq. codified Assembly Bill 359 which protects grocery workers from immediate termination upon a change in ownership of a grocery store.

With certain exceptions, a successor grocery employer must retain eligible grocery workers for a 90-day period, may not discharge those workers without cause during that period, and, upon the close of that period, must consider offering continued employment to those workers.

Will this new law help get fresh meat and produce into low income areas? What will it do to grocery prices? Why did we need this new law?

The information presented is not intended to be, and does not constitute, “legal advice.” Because each situation varies, and only brief summary information is provided here, you should not use this information as a basis for action unless you have independently verified with your own counsel that it applies to your particular situation.