Proposed CA Law to Guarantee No Work Calls from the Boss After Hours

California Assemblyman Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) has introduced a bill to create a “right-to-disconnect” law that guarantees employees uninterrupted after work personal and family time, free from calls from the boss. Haney said he borrowed the idea for it from a similar Australian law.

The Globe has one suggestion on this proposed law: You first Legislature and lawmakers.

Having been around the California Legislature for many years, I have witnessed first hand how Capitol staffers are treated like chattel by their lawmaker bosses. Certainly not all lawmakers do this, but far too many mistreat staff, including with early morning calls and text messages, and very late into the night calls, emails and text messages.

There are many awful stories about the worst of the worst Capitol bosses, but one comes to mind. An Assemblywoman no longer in office used to order her staff to clean her apartment (said to be pigsty filthy), and pick up/deliver her dry cleaning – clearly a boundary-crossing boss.

Other lawmakers – both sides of the political aisle – act as if they are Rock Stars, and demand their staffers tag along like groupies on every meal, outing, meeting, fundraiser – many of which end late in the evening.

Jay Leno said “Politics is just show business for ugly people,” meaning politics and show business share many similarities (performative), and the way both professions attract people seeking power, fame, and recognition.

Midday lunches are always “on call.”

5:00pm quitting time? Get real. Not at the Capitol. 9:00am start time? Only if the boss comes in later.

Language from Assemblyman Haney’s AB 2751 gives some detail:

“This bill would require a public or private employer to establish a workplace policy that provides employees the right to disconnect from communications from the employer during nonworking hours.

The bill would define the “right to disconnect” to mean that, except for an emergency or for scheduling, an employee has the right to ignore communications from the employer during nonworking hours.

The bill would require nonworking hours to be established by written agreement between an employer and employee.

The bill would authorize an employee to file a complaint of a pattern of violation of the bill’s provisions with the Labor Commissioner, punishable by a specified civil penalty.”

It’s rich that the self-important and often out-of-touch Legislature would propose a rule they can’t even live up to. But that’s what out-of-touch lawmakers do – they target the private sector, projecting their own bad behavior, secure in the knowledge that they are immune from the same laws.

This is more of a 21st Century problem, with employers and employees connected to cell phones, watches, tablets and laptops 24-7. We sleep with our Apple Watches on to monitor sleep (and messages). We wake up and check email and text messages as the coffee is brewing. The iPhone goes to the bathroom with (too many) people (I cringe when I hear a flush during a call). Laptops go to lunch (I am guilty) and dinner.

I propose an amendment to AB 2751: When the Legislature has mastered the “right-to-disconnect” law for its employees, then the private sector can tackle it.