October 4 Tip of the Week

California’s New Workplace Quota Law Reins in Warehouse Employers-Could a Similar Law Be Coming to a State Near You?

California’s new law restricting work quotas in distribution goes into effect on January 1, 2022, and employers in the industry, both inside and outside of California, are feeling the heat.  The law requires warehouse distribution employers to provide employees with a detailed written description of each quota within 30 days of hire, and prohibits employers from disciplining or terminating employees who fail to meet their quota if they did not timely receive this notice.  The law prohibits any quota that would interfere with an employee’s ability to use the restroom (including travel time to and from the restroom) or take a meal or rest period.  Employees will also have the right to request a record of the last 90 days of their “work speed data,” any information collected by the employer related to the employee’s performance of a quota.

Opponents fear the law will increase already challenging supply chain issues and drive up the prices of consumer goods.  Labor union advocates cheered the law as a vital step in preventing the exploitation of distribution workers, many of whom are nonunion employees, and have been spurred on by its success.  Labor law experts have often noted a trend of employee-friendly laws initially passed in California spreading and taking root in other states.  Although California’s law had its supporters and its detractors, employees working in all warehouse distribution centers, from big box retailers Walmart and Amazon to smaller general warehousing and storage employers, will now be protected from an exploitative quota system.   The bill’s passage is sure to spur on employee advocates across the country and draw even more attention to an already public controversy.

Is your state the next to fall in line with California when pro-worker legislation is proposed?  Let the expert attorneys at myHRcounsel keep you informed of laws being passed in your state and how you can remain in compliance.