(a) A hotel is in violation of this section, and subject to civil penalties, if either or both of the following conditions are met:

(1) Sex trafficking activity occurred in the hotel, a supervisory employee of the hotel either knew of the nature of the activity, or acted in reckless disregard of the activity constituting sex trafficking activity within the hotel, and the supervisory employee of the hotel failed to inform law enforcement, the National Human Trafficking Hotline, or another appropriate victim service organization within 24 hours.

(2) An employee of the hotel was acting within the scope of employment and knowingly benefited, financially or by receiving anything of value, by participating in a venture that the employee knew or acted in reckless disregard of the activity constituting sex trafficking within the hotel.

(b) If there is reasonable cause to believe there has been a violation pursuant to subdivision (a), a city, county, or city and county attorney may bring a civil action for injunctive and other equitable relief against a hotel for violation of this section. A city, county, or city and county attorney who brings a civil action under this section may also seek civil penalties in the amount of one thousand dollars ($1,000) for the first violation in a calendar year, three thousand dollars ($3,000) for the second violation within the same calendar year, and five thousand dollars ($5,000) for the third and any subsequent violation within the same calendar year.

(c) The court may exercise its discretion to increase the amount of the civil penalty, not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000), for any fourth or subsequent violation, considering all of the following factors:

(1) The defendant‘s culpability.

(2) The relationship between the harm and the penalty.

(3) The penalties imposed for similar conduct in similar statutes.

(4) The defendant’s ability to pay.

(d) The lack of reporting of a sex trafficking case that occurs in a hotel shall not, by itself, without meeting the conditions in either paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a), result in the liability of an employer of that establishment to the sex trafficking victim or victims in the case in question or to any other party.

(e) No liability for civil penalties shall arise under this section against a hotel employee.

(f) Violation of this section, by itself, shall not result in criminal liability against the hotel.

(g) Nothing in this section affects criminal or civil liability that may arise pursuant to other provisions of law.

(h) For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following definitions:

(1) “Hotel” means a motel, or any other operator or management company that offers and accepts payment for rooms, sleeping accommodations, or board and lodging and retains the right of access to, and control of, a dwelling unit that is required to provide training and education regarding human trafficking awareness pursuant to § 12950.3 of the Government Code.

(2) “Sex trafficking” means human trafficking for the purposes of engaging in a commercial sex act as set forth in subdivision (c) of § 236.1 of the Penal Code.

(3) “Supervisory employee” means any individual, regardless of the job description or title, who has each of the following capabilities and qualifications:

(A) Holds authority, in the interest of the employer, to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward, or discipline other employees, or responsibility to direct them, or to adjust their grievances, or effectively to recommend this action, if, in connection with the foregoing, the exercise of this authority is not of a merely routine or clerical nature, but requires the use of independent judgment.

(B) Holds responsibility for duties that are not substantially similar to those of their subordinates. Employees whose duties are substantially similar to those of their subordinates shall not be considered to be supervisory employees.

(i) An action brought pursuant to this section shall be commenced within five years of the date when the violation of subdivision (a) occurred, or, if the victim of that sex trafficking activity was a minor when the violation occurred, within five years of the date the victim attains the age of majority.

(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 760, Sec. 1. (AB 1788) Effective January 1, 2023.)