California governor signs legislation to protect warehouse workers

Sept 22 (Reuters) – California Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday signed a invoice that limits warehouse employers like Amazon.com Inc from setting productiveness quotas, the primary laws of its sort in the USA.

The brand new provisions require all corporations utilizing warehouse labour to reveal productiveness quotas to staff and authorities businesses and bar use of algorithms that forestall staff from taking rests and loo breaks, thereby endangering their well being and security, the governor’s workplace mentioned.

The California State Senate this month permitted the invoice in a 26-11 vote.

“We can not permit firms to place revenue over individuals,” Newsom mentioned in an announcement, signing the measure into legislation.

“The laws ensures staff can’t be fired or retaliated towards for failing to fulfill an unsafe quota.”

Whereas Newsom’s workplace didn’t single out any firm within the assertion, the New York Instances reported that the invoice was written partly in response to excessive charges of accidents at Amazon warehouses.

The speed at which Amazon staff undergo severe accidents was almost double that of the remainder of the warehousing trade final 12 months, the newspaper reported, citing research.

Amazon didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

“The hardworking warehouse staff who’ve helped maintain us throughout these unprecedented instances mustn’t should danger damage or face punishment because of exploitative quotas that violate fundamental well being and security,” Newsom mentioned.

The California Retailers Affiliation expressed disappointment that Newsom signed the invoice, saying it “will exacerbate our present provide chain points, improve the price of dwelling for all Californians and eradicate good-paying jobs”.

Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru; Modifying by Clarence Fernandez, Robert Birsel

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