Newsom Signs Bill to Limit Production Quotas at Amazon, Other Warehouse Operators

Contact Your Elected Officials
The Epoch Times Logo

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill that restricts the ability of retailers such as Amazon to enforce production quotas on warehouse workers, a move hailed by labor advocacy groups but opposed by business organizations as needless and burdensome.

The measure, called AB 701, was approved by the state Assembly earlier in the month and signed into law by Newsom on Sept. 23. The law, which goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2022, bars mega-retailers such as Amazon from firing or retaliating against warehouse workers for missing quotas that interfere with bathroom and rest breaks.

It also requires greater transparency related to production quotas, with large warehouse employers having to disclose quotas to workers within 30 days and provide authorities with detailed descriptions of productivity goals that workers are expected to meet.

The law, which applies to all warehouse distribution centers, also allows employees to sue to suspend unsafe quotas or reverse retaliation.

โ€œWe cannot allow corporations to put profit over people. The hardworking warehouse employees who have helped sustain us during these unprecedented times should not have to risk injury or face punishment as a result of exploitative quotas that violate basic health and safety,โ€ Newsom said in a statement.

The measure was authored by Democrat Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, a lawyer and former labor leader, who accused Amazon of disciplining warehouse workers at the direction of โ€œan algorithmโ€ that tracks employeesโ€™ activities and can determine that anything not directly related to moving packages is โ€œoff-task.โ€

โ€œWeโ€™ve heard disturbing stories of back-breaking working conditions in Amazon warehouses that use algorithms to enforce dangerous work speeds,โ€ Gonzalez said in a statement following the billโ€™s passage by the Legislature.

โ€œAmazon is pushing workers to risk their bodies for next-day delivery, while they canโ€™t so much as use the restroom without fearing retaliation. AB 701 gives workers the tools and protections necessary to be able to speak up and seek real relief against the health and safety abuses theyโ€™ve experienced in these warehouses,โ€ she said.

Amazon officials didnโ€™t immediately respond to a request for comment on AB 701.

Byย Tom Ozimek

Read Full Article on TheEpochTimes.com

The Thinking Conservative
The Thinking Conservativehttps://www.thethinkingconservative.com/
The goal of THE THINKING CONSERVATIVE is to help us educate ourselves on conservative topics of importance to our freedom and our pursuit of happiness. We do this by sharing conservative opinions on all kinds of subjects, from all types of people, and all kinds of media, in a way that will challenge our perceptions and help us to make educated choices.

Was Texas Storm Manmade?

Another โ€œ1-in-100 yearsโ€ weather event in Kerr County happened next to a Texas designated โ€œWeather Modification Map of Rain-Enhancement Projects in Texasโ€.

The America Party Will Harm Democrats The Most

Elon Musk formed the America Party after an X poll asking his followers if they wanted โ€œindependence from the two-party system!

Democrats Exhibit the Dunning-Kruger Effect (DKE)

โ€œThe Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias where people with low ability at a task overestimate their competence, while those with high ability underestimate their competence.

250 Countdown

Those 56 intrepid men who signed put their very lives, honor and fortunes on the line. There was no auto-quill to accommodate their signatures.ย 

How the Senate Parliamentarian Changed the OBBB

An unelected bureaucrat does a important job in the U.S. Senate. Elizabeth MacDonough enforces senate rules on Trumpโ€™s โ€œOne Big Beautiful Billโ€.

Trump Administration Ends Deportation Protections for 76,000 From Honduras, Nicaragua

Mondayโ€™s decision is the latest in several temporary protected...

Death Toll From Texas Floods Rises to 82, Including 28 Children; Trump Plans Visit

Days after catastrophic flash floods in central Texas, rescuers are still searching for potential survivors, including 27 girls who went missing from camp.

Trump Signs Major Disaster Declaration Over Texas Flooding

President Trump signed major disaster declaration for Kerr County, TX, following floods leaving dozens dead and FEMA has been activated to respond.

Storm Chantal Makes Landfall in Carolinas, Weakens to Tropical Depression

Chantal weakened into a tropical depression, and tropical storm warnings previously issued for parts of North and South Carolina were discontinued.

DOJ, FBI Find Epstein Committed Suicide, Had No โ€˜Client Listโ€™

Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide and had no โ€œclient list,โ€ according to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI.

National Weather Service Fully Staffed During Deadly Texas Flooding: White House

White House press sec. Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the National Weather Service had a full staff on hand to handle the Central Texas flooding.

US Removes Terrorist Designation for Al Qaeda Affiliate in Syria

The State Department has removed from its list of foreign terrorist organizations Al Qaedaโ€™s affiliate in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra.

Trump Announces 25 Percent Tariff on Japan, South Korea

President Donald Trump on July 7 issued letters announcing 25 percent tariffs on Japan and South Korea, set to take effect on Aug. 1, 2025.
spot_img

Related Articles