Sex trafficking: hotels: actual knowledge or reckless disregard: civil penalty.

Existing law requires hotels, as defined, to provide at least 20 minutes of training to their staff on how to recognize human trafficking as it pertains specifically to the hotel sector. Existing law does not create liability against a hotel or its employees for the lack of reporting a human trafficking case. This bill would allow civil penalties to be imposed against a hotel, as defined, if a supervisory employee, as defined, of the hotel knew of or acted with reckless disregard of the activity constituting sex trafficking activity, as defined, that occurred within the hotel and failed to inform law enforcement, the National Human Trafficking Hotline, or another appropriate victim service organization, as specified, or if any employee of that hotel was acting within the scope of employment and knowingly benefited from participating in a venture that the employee knew, or acted in reckless disregard of the activity constituting sex trafficking activity within the hotel. This bill would authorize a city, county, or city and county attorney to seek equitable relief against a hotel, and to seek a civil penalty of $1,000 for the first violation, $3,000 for a 2nd violation within the same calendar year, and $5,000 for a 3rd and any subsequent violation of sex trafficking within the same calendar year. The bill would authorize a court to consider specified factors and exercise its discretion to increase the amount of the civil penalty, not to exceed $10,000, for any 4th or subsequent violation. The bill would require that the action be commenced within 5 years of the violation, or within 5 years of the date the victim attains the age of majority.