SEC. 186.10. WAIVERS. (Title and Section Amended by Ord. No. 188,610, Eff. 9/8/25.) A. Collective Bargaining Agreement. All the provisions of this article, or any part of the article, may be waived in a bona fide collective bargaining agreement, but only if the waiver is explicitly set forth in that agreement in clear and unambiguous terms. Unilateral implementation of terms and conditions of employment by either party to a collective bargaining relationship shall not constitute or be permitted as a waiver of all or any part of the provisions of this article. B. Limited Hardship Waiver for Hotel Employers. 1. Waiver application. The Division shall grant a hardship waiver from the requirements of this article, subject to the limitation in subsection C. below, to any Hotel Employer who demonstrates that compliance with this article would require the Hotel Employer, in order to avoid bankruptcy or a shutdown of the Hotel Employer’s hotel, to reduce its workforce by more than 20 percent or curtail its Hotel Workers’ total hours by more than 30 percent. The Division shall grant such a hardship waiver only after reviewing a Hotel Employer's financial condition at the Hotel Employer’s expense. A hardship waiver granted under this section shall be valid for no more than one year. A determination by the Division to grant or deny a request for a hardship waiver under this section may be appealed to a hearing examiner in accordance with established city practices for hearing examiner review. 2. Notice of waiver application. Prior to submitting a waiver application pursuant to this section, a Hotel Employer shall provide written notice of the waiver application to all Hotel Workers employed by the Hotel Employer. Within three days of receiving a waiver determination from the Division under this section, a Hotel Employer shall provide written notice of the determination to all Hotel Workers employed by the Hotel Employer. 3. Applicable minimum wage and health benefits upon granting of a hardship waiver. A Hotel Employer that receives a hardship waiver under this section shall be granted a 12-month delay in providing any new wage and health benefit increases that occur after the date the completed hardship waiver application is received by the Division. A Hotel Employer granted a waiver must pay a Hotel Worker the minimum wage rate specified in Section 186.02 A.1.