Council OKs Curbs on Hiring of Day Laborers

It will soon be against the law for day laborers to seek work on Monrovia’s streets, sidewalks and parking lots, and for residents to hire them.

The City Council this week approved an ordinance making it a misdemeanor for such workers to gather in public places looking for work and for potential employers to hire them. Fliers in English and Spanish will be distributed and signs will be posted when the law is enacted Aug. 15.

Initially, authorities will issue warnings to those seeking day jobs and prospective employers, said Robert Kastenbaum, community development director.

For several years, some residents have voiced opposition to groups of day laborers who gather outside the Home Depot in the 400 block of West Huntington Drive. Some community activists, however, have maintained the complaints are motivated by racism.

Kastenbaum said the city is offering help for day laborers. He said Home Depot will relocate to a larger facility at Mountain Avenue this fall, and has agreed to have a firm called Labor Ready operate a hiring trailer there, where day laborers can be register for work.