Assemblyman Matt Haney from San Francisco has introduced a bill that would make California the first state in the US to grant employees the legal right to ignore non-emergency calls and emails outside of working hours. The bill aims to protect employees' personal time and could result in fines for employers who violate the rule. Similar laws already exist in several other countries.
from San Francisco Assemblyman Matt Haney would make his state the first in the country to give employees the legal right to ignore non-emergency calls and emails once the workday ends., which is set to be implemented later this year. The bill allows employees to refuse to respond to calls or messages from their bosses during their personal time , with potential fines for employers that breach the rule.
The law applies to salaried employees but does not override existing collective bargaining agreements, so unionized workers such as teachers and nurses would continue to follow whatever it says in their contracts about off-hours communication. The increasingly blurry lines of when people are on or off work have"gotten worse" following the pandemic, Haney points out, as the gradual rise of remote work makes it harder to put a firm stop to the workday.
Even if you all work from the same location,"employees have different personal responsibilities and demands on their time," Starek adds,"That makes it difficult for everyone to align … the law is quite hard to enforce.""People tend to be happier and perform the best when they have clear expectations of their job," Starek adds.
"State agencies are great but often understaffed and overworked," he explains."The chances you're going to get some kind of successful resolution after filing an administrative complaint are pretty low."
California Assemblyman Bill Employees Right To Disconnect Personal Time Fines Employers Non-Emergency Calls Emails Working Hours Labor Rights
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