Governor Kathy Hochul recently signed into law the New York Warehouse Worker Protection Act, which will protect warehouse distribution workers from undisclosed or unlawful work speed quotas and includes protections for workers who fail to meet unlawful quotas. The legislation will be effective February 19, 2023.

Specifically, the Warehouse Worker Protection Act amends the New York Labor Law by adding a new Article 21-a and requires employers to provide a written description of quotas to which employees are subject and states that employees shall not be required to meet quotas that prevent compliance with meal or rest periods, or use of bathroom facilities.

The Act covers employers who employ 100 or more employees at a single warehouse distribution center or 500 or more employees at one or more warehouse distribution centers in the state. Covered employees include non-exempt and non-administrative employees who work at a covered employer and are subject to a quota.

Under the new law, a quota is defined as: (a) an employee assigned or required to perform: at a specified productivity speed; or a quantified number of tasks, or to handle or  produce a quantified amount of material, within a defined time period; or (b) an employee’s actions are categorized between time performing  tasks and not performing tasks, and the employee’s failure to complete a task performance standard or recommendation may have an adverse impact on the employee’s continued employment or the conditions of such employment.

Employers must provide each employee, upon hire, or within 30 days of the effective date of this law, a written description of each quota and any potential adverse employment action relating to the same. Each time the quota changes the employer must provide an updated description within two business days.  In addition, anytime an employee is disciplined they must also be provided with the applicable quota.

The Act prevents an employee from being required to meet a quota that prevents compliance with meal or rest periods or use of the bathroom. It further states that paid and unpaid breaks cannot be counted as productive time for the purpose of the quota or monitoring system.

The legislation also imposes record keeping requirements on employers to maintain, and preserve contemporaneous, true, and accurate records of the following: (a) each employee’s own personal work speed data; (b) the aggregated work speed data for similar employees at the same establishment; and (c) the written descriptions of the quota such employee was provided. The records must be maintained and preserved throughout the duration of each employee’s period of employment.

Employers who are subject to the Warehouse Workers Protection Act should carefully review the requirements of same to ensure compliance with its requirements. Should you have any questions regarding if and/or how this new law effects your workplace, please contact Ali Law Group.

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