California workers may legally be allowed to ignore messages from their boss after the workday is over.
The pressure to respond to work messages outside of business hours has rapidly increased in recent years, especially as remote working during the pandemic has blurred the line between work and home life.
According to the World Economic Forum, this has exacerbated worker burnout and forced many countries to address “right to disconnect” laws.
Democratic Rep. Matt Haney of San Francisco aims to add California to that list with a bill he introduced in February that is currently being considered by the state Legislature.
If passed as currently written, Assembly Bill 2751 would “require a public or private employer to establish a workplace policy that grants employees the right to disconnect from communications of the employer during non-working hours, unless otherwise indicated.
This means that, except in cases of emergency or for scheduling reasons, workers would have the “right to ignore communications from the employer outside of work hours,” according to the text of the bill.
Nonworking hours would be set by a written agreement between workers and the employer.
If the employer violates the rule, it faces a civil penalty of at least $100, according to the current version of the bill.
California would become the first state in the country to consider such a law.
However, more than a dozen countries have already adopted similar laws.
Kenya was the last to do so, according to the World Economic Forum.
France was the first to adopt a law on the right to disconnect in 2017.
Haney’s office told FOX 5 that studies found workers were “healthier, happier and more productive” after these laws were passed.
At the same time, Haney said the law would help the state better compete with other states for qualified workers.
“We are in constant competition with other states like Texas and New York who are trying to attract California workers to their states,” he said.
“(Giving) our workers the right to disconnect will be a major benefit to our workforce and will make California’s technology sector better able to compete for skilled workers.”
FOX Business reached out to Haney’s office.
New York Post
