California Right to Disconnect Proposed Law

Is your employer driving you crazy with weekend and late-night phone calls, texts, and emails? Do you feel like you never truly leave work, no matter where you go or what time it is? If so, you’re not alone. There’s a bill pending in the California legislature proposing limits on employer contacts, but it’s not a law yet.

If your employer has no boundaries and you feel like you can never escape your job because your boss constantly contacts you, demanding work, you may be the victim of wage theft. We can discuss your rights, how California law may apply, and how we can help you. Call our team of wage theft attorneys for a FREE consultation at (949) 266-0880, or complete our confidential contact form today.

California Bill Would Limit Off-Hour Communication

Many bills are submitted to the state legislature, and a few become laws. One is a proposal by a San Francisco lawmaker, Matt Haney, that would make California the first state to give workers a limited right to ignore their employer’s after-work calls, texts, and emails, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Assembly Bill 2751, would:

• Make it harder for employers to interrupt your personal and family time
• Require that they create and publish plans to implement the law into their policies
• Empower the state’s Labor Commissioner’s Office to investigate claimed violations and fine employers who frequently violate it

The bill has loopholes for exceptions, but no employment-related law is a grand slam win for employees. There’s always give and take in the legislature. CNBC reports that the bill:

• Would require employers and employees to agree on their working hours 
• Grant workers the right to ignore off-hours communications, except if there’s an emergency or there’s a scheduling change in the next 24 hours. An emergency would be something unforeseen that threatens a customer, employee, or the public, could disrupt or shut down operations, or cause environmental or physical damage
• Would create fines starting at $100 by the state’s labor commissioner if it’s found your employer breaks the agreement at least three times
• Would apply to salaried employees and those working at home for California employers
• Would not apply to workers covered by collective bargaining agreements or people working at home for non-California employers

The bill has a long way to go before it becomes law if that ever happens. If it does, the law’s language may differ from what the bill states now. Not surprisingly, business groups aren’t in favor of the proposal.  They claim a set of rules will be difficult to implement because employers operate in many different ways. Businesses want the freedom to contact employees whenever they want.

Once Again, American Employee Rights Lag Behind Those in Other Countries

The Times reports that:

• A survey of 41 developed countries found that the US is 29th for employees’ work-life balance, with 10% of residents working an average of at least 50 hours or more a week
• Workers without a healthy work-life balance are more likely to feel burned out, anxious, and stressed,  especially women and working parents
• A 2021 survey found 84% of respondents claimed their work contributed to at least one mental health condition

Eighteen countries, including France, where the idea started in 2016, have the right to disconnect laws. Australia approved legislation allowing workers the right to disconnect in March. Other countries affording workers this right include Austria, Belgium, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Turkey, and Ukraine. Californian workers lack this right, while those in developing countries (Kenya and Chile) and a nation at war (Ukraine) have it.

Haney told the Times:

“Many of California’s larger employers are already abiding by the right-to-disconnect laws in other countries and choosing to grow their companies rapidly in those places,” he said. “They’re providing their French, Portuguese, and Irish employees a clear delineation between ‘work time’ and non-work time,’ they’re just not doing that for Californians.”

If employers won’t respect their workers’ time and sanity and continue to abuse their ability to contact their workers, this bill should pass sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, for issues such as unpaid overtime and similar grievances, our wage theft lawyers in Tustin can provide the necessary legal support to ensure fair treatment and compensation for affected workers.

Contact MJB Law Group

If you’re coping with an employer who constantly contacts you for work-related issues while you’re off the clock, keep a log of these communications and the time you spend dealing with them. If this is a good amount of time, you should ask to be paid. If your employer refuses, you should consider taking action to obtain the money that you earned.

The Tustin wage theft lawyers at MJB Law Group help employees across Orange County and Southern California collect the compensation they earned. If you are a victim of wage theft, fight back. Wage theft is illegal, and we can hold your employer accountable.

Contact us for a FREE case evaluation and consultation. Call us today at (949) 266-0880 or fill out our confidential contact form.