California Would Give Employees ‘Right to Disconnect’ from Bosses After Clocking Out of Work

A bill introduced in the California legislature would help employees disconnect from their bosses after leaving work for the day.

Assembly Bill 2751, which would provide workers the “right to disconnect,” was introduced in February by Assembleymember Matt Haney of San Francisco, USA Today reported Tuesday.

“People now find themselves always on and never off,” Haney said, according to Business Insider. “The problem we have now is the gray area, where an employee is expected to respond all the time when on paper they work a 9-to-5 job.”

He added, “This is not intended to say people can’t work long hours or have an agreement for a contract where they’re on call, but it should be made clear.”

If the bill passes, it would make California the first state to give such a right to workers, the Today article continued:

If the bill were to become law, it would define the “right to disconnect” as the right for employees to ignore communications during nonworking hours “except for an emergency or for scheduling, as defined.” Both public and private employers would be required to create a workplace policy that allows employees the right to disconnect.

It would also require nonworking hours to be established by a written agreement, and would allow employees to file a complaint of a pattern of violation with the California Labor Commissioner, which would be punishable by a fine.

According to Fox 5 San Diego, over a dozen other countries across the globe have already implemented similar laws for workers.

“The lawmakers behind the bill say it would help the state retain and attract more workers”:

In 2019, a proposal in New York City was geared toward making sure employees had the right to take time away from their devices, CBS New York reported.

One man who spoke to the outlet said he checks his phone every half hour and many companies try to contact their employees after work hours. Therefore, he agreed with the Right to Disconnect bill:

“I think it would lower the stress level on people, and more put [sic] people toward their families,” he stated.