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California lawmakers have passed a major bill aimed at regulating Amazon’s use of productivity quotas in stores, a work practice that has become a notorious complaint among its workers.
The state Senate voted Wednesday afternoon 26-11 for the bill, called the Warehouse Workers Protection Act, or AB-701. The bill is now addressed to the State Assembly for a final vote and will then be sent to Governor Gavin Newsom’s table for signature or veto. Newsom has not yet indicated whether or not it supports the bill.
Legislation requires employers to disclose productivity quotas to employees and government agencies. It also prohibits employers from requiring warehouse employees to meet unsafe quotas that prevent them from taking mandatory breaks or breaks from the state or using the bathroom.
Amazon uses sophisticated algorithms to track productivity rates among warehouse workers, recording the number of packages they collect, package, and store every hour. If workers stop for too long scanning packages, Amazon’s internal system will record it as a “rest task” and generate a warning, which can later lead to layoffs.
Amazon’s productivity quotas have been targeted by critics who say they cause work-related injuries in warehouses. A study conducted in June by the Organizing Strategic Center, a coalition of unions, found that Amazon warehouse workers are injured at higher rates than rival companies. The SOC attributed high injury rates among warehouse and delivery workers to Amazon’s “obsession with speed”.
California legislation would not only increase transparency over productivity quotas, but would also give more legal avenues for current and former employees to appeal.
Amazon representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment on California law.
In June, the company adjusted its system that measures worker productivity, known as “free time,” to use averages over a longer period of time. Amazon warehouse workers have said the metric limits their ability to take bath breaks and leads to unfair disciplinary action.
Business groups have strongly opposed the bill. Rachel Michelin, head of the California Retailers Association, whose association includes Amazon on the board, told Thomson Reuters that the bill was too broad and would hinder the entire logistics industry, but that it supports give more resources to safety and health inspectors.
The association of retail industry leaders argued that the legislation would impose undue legal burdens and labor restrictions on companies.