REPRESENTING UNIONS & EMPLOYEES SINCE 1936
facebook twitter linkedin youtube

Oakland: 510.625.9700 | Sacramento: 916.325.2100

2021 Legislative Summary, Employment Law – Part 3

December 21, 2021 by , , , , , and

We are presenting our annual Legislative Summary of Employment Law in four parts this year. This is Part Three.

Warehouse Worker Protection Bill (AB 701)

This bill requires large warehouse employers to implement major protections for nonexempt employees. Starting on January 1, 2022, large warehouse employers:

  • Must provide employees within 30 days of hire a written description of any productivity quotas and the adverse actions that could result from failure to meet them.
  • Cannot use quotas that prevent compliance with State law meal or rest breaks, bathroom breaks, or safety and health rules and regulations.
  • Cannot take adverse action against employees who take time to comply with meal or rest breaks, bathroom breaks, or to comply with safety and health rules and regulations or who fail to meet any undisclosed quota(s).
  • Must treat time necessary to comply with safety and health rules and regulations – like a pre-work forklift inspection – as “time on task” for any quota system.
  • Cannot create quotas in a manner that prevents lawfully required breaks, including bathroom breaks, including reasonable time to get to bathroom or break area.
  • Must allow individual employees (and former employees) to request information on the quotas that apply, and the most recent 90 days of productivity data, if they believe the quota system caused them to miss a break.
  • Will be subject to a rebuttable presumption of retaliation if they take adverse action against an employee within 90 days of an employee’s complaint or request for data on quota and breaks. The Labor Commissioner’s Retaliation Complaint Investigation Unit will investigate and prosecute complaints of unlawful retaliation.
  • Will be subject to enforcement agencies’ subpoena of records of productivity quotas and work speed data.

AB 701 applies to employers with 100 or more employees at a single warehouse distribution center or 1,000 or more employees at one or more warehouse distribution centers in California.

 

The material on this website is provided by Beeson, Tayer & Bodine for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult with their own legal counsel before acting on any of the information presented. Some of the articles are updated periodically, and are marked with the date of the last update. Again, readers should consult with their own legal counsel for the most current information and to obtain professional advice before acting on any of the information presented.