Lamont throws support behind warehouse employee quota restrictions
Pixabay | pixabay.com/photos/store-stacks-shelves-stock-5619201/
A warehouse.
Gov. Ned Lamont is backing efforts to put restrictions on warehouse production quotas for employees, based on a bill he proposed Thursday.
Senate Bill 1254, “An Act Establishing Additional Protections for Warehouse Workers,” would set rules around workplace quotas, to ensure that workers know how their performance is measured, including a description of any quota to which they are subjected.
Also, workers must be given the opportunity to review current and historical work speed data, and must be informed of changes in quotas, or in measurement of work speed data, according to the proposal.
Further, the bill forbids quotas to be used to prevent workers from using the bathroom or taking scheduled meal breaks. Also, breaks cannot count against a worker unless they are required to “remain on-call.”
The bill also requires employers to “maintain accurate records of individual and aggregate work speed data and of the quota notifications required under the bill,” and gives employees the ability to request that data. Employers cannot retaliate against employees for asking for such data, or for suing to allege a violation of their rights under the proposal.
In addition, the bill prohibits employers from taking adverse action against an employee for failing to satisfy a quota for which the employee does not have notice.
The proposal would apply to any non-salaried employee working at a warehouse distribution center with 250 or more employees at one site, or with at least 1,000 employees statewide.
The proposal would be enforced via private civil action or the state Attorney General. The Workers’ Compensation Commission would forward data of employers with excessive injuries to the Department of Labor.
Earlier in the legislative session, the Labor Committee raised a bill seeking to regulate the use of production quotas for warehouse workers.
The bill, Senate Bill 8, contains placeholder text to “limit the extent to which certain warehouse distribution centers can require their employees to meet unreasonable production quotas.”
Lamont’s proposal goes into more detail, but does not include the “unreasonable” provision.
Similar warehouse quota bills have been raised in the past two legislative sessions, but failed to be approved.
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