This section defines terms related to employment at warehouse distribution centers. It clarifies that: "Commissioner" refers to the Labor Commissioner; "defined time period" refers to any time unit within an employee's shift; and "division" means the Division of Occupational Safety and Health. An "employee" is a nonexempt worker at a warehouse distribution center.

"Employee work speed data" includes information about an employee's performance in meeting quotas, but excludes qualitative assessments. An "employer" is someone who oversees 100+ employees at one warehouse or 1,000+ statewide. The term "person" covers a broad range of entities. A "quota" is a work performance standard that could lead to negative consequences if unmet.

"Warehouse distribution center" is defined by specific NAICS codes, excluding farm product warehousing.

Employers need to give each new employee a written document when they start working, or within 30 days of a new rule coming in, that explains any quotas they must meet. This document should spell out the number of tasks or amount of work expected within a specific time and warn about any negative job consequences if these targets aren't met.

Employers in California can't require employees to meet work quotas that interfere with their legal rights to take meal or rest breaks, use the bathroom, or follow health and safety laws. Furthermore, employers cannot punish employees for failing to meet any such quotas, or quotas that haven't been clearly communicated to them.

This law mandates that when employees spend time complying with occupational health and safety laws, it must count as productive work time. This means that any tasks related to health and safety are treated as part of their work responsibilities and should not negatively impact their quotas or performance evaluations.

However, the law also clarifies that meal and rest breaks are generally not considered productive time, unless an employee is required to be on call during these breaks.

If current or former employees think meeting work quotas led to missing meal or rest breaks or breaking safety rules, they can ask their employer for a written description of these quotas and 90 days of personal work speed data. For former employees, this data covers the last 90 days before they left the job.

Employers must reply to such requests within 21 days. But if an employer doesn't track or use quotas/work speed data, they're not required to provide it.

This law creates a legal assumption that an employer has retaliated unlawfully if they take negative actions against an employee within 90 days after the employee requests information about their work quotas or personal work speed, or after they complain about violations related to quotas. This assumption can be challenged and disproven by the employer, but it protects employees from retaliation after they exercise their rights regarding work expectations.

If there's a complaint about a violation related to warehouse quotas or work speed, state or local officials can ask for or officially demand to see records of those quotas and employee work rates.

This law section outlines the responsibilities of the labor commissioner concerning workers' rights and safety in warehouses. The commissioner is tasked with enforcing regulations by collaborating with various divisions, such as Occupational Safety and Health and Workers’ Compensation. The commissioner also works with stakeholders to educate both employers and employees on their rights and duties. Furthermore, the commissioner must report claims and injury data to the legislature until 2027 and can initiate investigations if a site has significantly higher injury rates than the industry average. The commissioner has the authority to develop regulations for complaints and can seek court action to ensure compliance, with courts able to impose penalties and legal fees on non-compliant entities.

If you're a current or former employee in California, you can sue to stop a company practice that's violating certain workplace regulations. If you win the case, you can also recover your costs and attorney's fees. If the issue involves a work quota that stopped compliance with safety regulations, the court can only order the quota and any related disciplinary actions to be paused.

This law explains that if a current or former employee sues their employer for violations under the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act, the employer has a chance to fix the alleged violations according to specific procedures. If the lawsuit involves breaking any occupational health and safety laws, the employee must follow certain procedural requirements outlined in another section.

This law section allows the Attorney General, district attorney, or city attorney to independently bring legal actions against violations of this part of the law. They can do this based on their own initiative or a complaint by others, and they don't need specific instructions from the commissioner or division to enforce these laws.

This law states that if a local ordinance, like one from a city or county, offers protection to employees that is equal to or better than this law, the local ordinance can still apply. This means local rules that take care of employees won't be overridden by this state law.

This law says that each part of it stands on its own. If one part is found to be invalid, it doesn't impact the rest. The other parts can still be used as long as they don't rely on the invalid part.