Good News: The Glove Law Is On Track For a Repeal

It's a good day for opponents of AB1252, otherwise known as the glove law: as of today, emergency legislation has been introduced to remove the glove-wearing requirement from the law, and it's likely to be repealed. Thanks to an initiative from ForageSF's Iso Rabins (representing food entrepreneurs) and Josh Miller (representing bartenders) that collected more than 17,000 signatures across two different petitions, Assemblyman Richard Pan, whose committee originally wrote the bill, has now introduced legislation to overturn the glove provision (a.k.a. section 113961).

"It's incredible how many people came out to support this campaign, and amazingly empowering how swiftly Sacramento heard our calls," says Rabins. The California Restaurant Association was also pleased: "It has quickly become clear that a one-size-fits-all implementation for such a diversely structured industry presented too many operational challenges. The right course of action is being pursued by Assemblyman Pan," said president and CEO Jot Condie in a statement.

The law, which went into effect on January 1 and would have begun its enforcement period on June 1, required all workers handling food that wouldn't be cooked, including sushi chefs and bartenders wielding ice and garnishes, to wear plastic gloves for sanitary reasons. The restaurant community was overwhelmingly opposed to the law, which many deemed not only wasteful and harmful to the environment, but actually less sanitary than regular handwashing, which is already a requirement for all restaurant workers. The new legislation is planned to be signed into law in the next few months, before enforcement takes effect.

· Petition Against Glove Law Draws Local Chefs, Bartenders [~ ESF ~]
· New California Law Requires Bartenders to Wear Gloves [~ ESF ~]