Warehouse distribution centers.

(1) Existing law relating to employment regulation and supervision imposes special provisions on certain occupations and industries. Existing law charges the Labor Commissioner and the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement with the enforcement of labor laws. This bill, among other things, would require specified employers to provide to each employee, defined as a nonexempt employee who works at a warehouse distribution center, upon hire, or within 30 days of the effective date of these provisions, with a written description of each quota to which the employee is subject, including the quantified number of tasks to be performed, or materials to be produced or handled, within the defined time period, and any potential adverse employment action that could result from failure to meet the quota. The bill would provide that an employee shall not be required to meet a quota that prevents compliance with meal or rest periods, use of bathroom facilities, or occupational health and safety laws, as specified. The bill would prohibit an employer from taking adverse action against an employee for failure to meet a quota that has not been disclosed or for failure to meet a quota that does not allow a worker to comply with meal or rest periods or occupational health and safety laws. The bill would require that any action taken by an employee to comply with occupational health and safety laws or division standards be considered time on task and productive time for the purposes of any quotas or monitoring system. This bill would provide that if a current or former employee believes that meeting a quota caused a violation of their right to a meal or rest period or required them to violate any occupational health and safety law or standard, they have the right to request, and the employer is required to provide, a written description of each quota to which the employee is subject and a copy of the most recent 90 days of the employee's own personal work speed data. The bill would limit a former employee to one of these requests. The bill would also authorize a current or former employee to bring an action for injunctive relief to obtain compliance with specified requirements, and may, upon prevailing in the action, recover costs and reasonable attorney's fees in that action. This bill would require the Labor Commissioner to enforce these provisions by engaging in coordinated and strategic enforcement efforts with the Department of Industrial Relations, including the Division of Occupational Safety and Health and the Division of Workers' Compensation. The bill would authorize the commissioner to have access to data from the department including employer-reported injury data and enforcement actions in warehouses, the identity of uninsured employers, and employers who are committing workers' compensation fraud, wage theft, or other information relevant to the commissioner's authority, and would make other conforming changes. The bill would require the commissioner to report to the Legislature by January 1, 2023, the number of claims filed with the commissioner, data on warehouse production quotas in warehouses in which annual employee injury rates are above the industry average, and the number of investigations undertaken and enforcement actions initiated, per employer, as specified. This bill would require the Division of Occupational Safety and Health or the Division of Workers' Compensation to notify the commissioner, who is required to determine whether an investigation of violations pursuant to these provisions is appropriate, if a particular worksite or employer is found to have an annual employee injury rate of at least 1.5 times higher than the warehousing industry's average annual injury rate. The bill would authorize the commissioner to adopt regulations relating to the procedures for an employee to make a complaint alleging a violation of this part. (2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.