2023 -- S 0661
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S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023
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A N A C T
RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- WAREHOUSE WORKER
PROTECTION ACT
Introduced By: Senators Ciccone, F. Lombardi, Britto, DiPalma, Tikoian, Burke, and Bell
Date Introduced: March 07, 2023
Referred To: Senate Labor
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Title 28 of the General Laws entitled "LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS" 1
is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter: 2
CHAPTER 60 3
WAREHOUSE WORKER PROTECTION ACT 4
28-60-1. Short title. 5
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Warehouse Worker Protection Act". 6
28-60-2. Definitions. 7
As used in this chapter: 8
(1) "Aggregated data" means information that an employer has combined or collected 9
together in summary or other form such that the data cannot be identified with any individual. 10
(2) "Defined time period" means any unit of time measurement equal to or less than the 11
duration of an employee’s shift, and includes hours, minutes, and seconds and any fraction thereof. 12
(3) "Designated employee representative" means any employee representative, including, 13
but not limited to, an authorized employee representative that has a collective bargaining 14
relationship with the employer. 15
(4) "Employee" means a nonexempt employee who works at a warehouse distribution 16
center and is subject to a quota as defined in this section. 17
(5) "Employee work speed data" means information an employer collects, stores, analyzes, 18
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or interprets relating to an individual employee’s performance of a quota, including, but not limited 1
to, quantities of tasks performed, quantities of items or materials handled or produced, rates or 2
speeds of tasks performed, measurements or metrics of employee performance in relation to a 3
quota, and time categorized as performing tasks or not performing tasks. 4
(6)(i) "Employer" means a person who directly or indirectly, or through an agent or any 5
other person, including through the services of a third-party employer, temporary services, or 6
staffing agency, independent contractor, or any similar entity, at any time in the prior twelve (12) 7
months, employs or exercises control over the wages, hours, or working conditions of one hundred 8
(100) or more employees at a single warehouse distribution center or five hundred (500) or more 9
employees at one or more warehouse distribution centers in the state. 10
(ii) For the purposes of this subsection: 11
(A) All employees employed directly or indirectly, or through an agent or any other person, 12
as described in subsection (6)(i) of this section, as well as any employee employed by a member of 13
a controlled group of corporations of which the employer is a member, shall be counted in 14
determining the number of employees employed at a single warehouse distribution center or at one 15
or more warehouse distribution centers in the state; and 16
(B) All agents or other persons, as described in subsection (6)(i) of this section, and all 17
members of a controlled group of corporations of which the employer is a member, shall be deemed 18
to be employers and shall be jointly and severally responsible for compliance with this chapter. For 19
purposes of this subsection, the term "controlled group of corporations" shall be defined as provided 20
under Section 1563 of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. section 1563, except that fifty percent 21
(50%) shall be substituted for eighty percent (80%) where eighty percent (80%) is specified in that 22
definition. 23
(7) "Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited 24
liability partnership, limited liability company, business trust, estate, trust, association, joint 25
venture, agency, instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity, whether domestic or 26
foreign. 27
(8) "Quota" means a work standard which: 28
(i) An employee is assigned or required to perform: 29
(A) At a specified productivity speed; or a quantified number of tasks, or to handle or 30
produce a quantified amount of material, within a defined time period; or 31
(B) An employee's actions are categorized between time performing tasks and not 32
performing tasks, and the employee's failure to complete a task performance standard or 33
recommendation may have an adverse impact on the employee's continued employment or the 34
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conditions of such employment. 1
(9) "Warehouse distribution center" means an establishment as defined by any of the 2
following North American industry classification system ("NAICS") codes, however such 3
establishment is denominated: 4
(i) Four hundred ninety-three (493) for warehousing and storage; 5
(ii) Four hundred twenty-three (423) for merchant wholesalers, durable goods; 6
(iii) Four hundred twenty-four (424) for merchant wholesalers, nondurable goods; 7
(iv) Four hundred fifty-four thousand one hundred ten (454,110) for electronic shopping 8
and mail-order houses; or 9
(v) Four hundred ninety-two thousand one hundred ten (492,110) for couriers and express 10
delivery services. 11
28-60-3. Disclosure of quotas. 12
(a) Each employer shall provide to each employee, upon hire, or within thirty (30) days of 13
the effective date of this chapter, a written description of each quota to which the employee is 14
subject, including the quantified number of tasks to be performed or materials to be produced or 15
handled, within the defined time period, and any potential adverse employment action that could 16
result from failure to meet the quota. 17
(b) Each time the quota changes thereafter, the employer shall provide an updated written 18
description of each quota to which the employee is subject within two (2) business days of such 19
quota change. 20
(c) Each time an employer takes an adverse employment action against an employee, the 21
employer shall provide that employee with the applicable quota for the employee. 22
28-60-4. Protection from quotas. 23
(a) An employee shall not be required to meet a quota that prevents compliance with meal 24
or rest periods or use of bathroom facilities, including reasonable travel time to and from bathroom 25
facilities. An employer shall not take adverse employment action against an employee for failure 26
to meet a quota that does not allow a worker to comply with meal and rest periods or for failure to 27
meet a quota that has not been disclosed to the employee pursuant to § 28-60-3. 28
(b) Consistent with existing law, paid and unpaid breaks shall not be considered productive 29
time for the purpose of any quota or monitoring system unless the employee is required to remain 30
on call. 31
28-60-5. Recordkeeping. 32
(a) Each employer shall establish, maintain, and preserve contemporaneous, true, and 33
accurate records of the following: 34
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(1) Each employee's own personal work speed data; 1
(2) The aggregated work speed data for similar employees at the same establishment; and 2
(3) The written descriptions of the quota such employee was provided pursuant to § 28-60-3
3. 4
(b) Such records shall be maintained and preserved throughout the duration of each 5
employee's period of employment and made available to the director of the department of labor and 6
training upon request. 7
(c) Subsequent to any employee's separation from the employer, such records relating to 8
the six (6) month period prior to the date of the employee's separation from the employer shall be 9
preserved for a period of time not less than three (3) years subsequent to the date of such employee's 10
separation and made available to the director upon request. 11
(d) Nothing in this section shall require an employer to keep such records if such employer 12
does not use quotas as defined in this chapter or monitor work speed data. 13
28-60-6. Right to request. 14
(a) A current employee has the right to request a written description of each quota to which 15
the employee is subject, a copy of the employee's own personal work speed data, and a copy of the 16
prior six (6) months of aggregated work speed data for similar employees at the same establishment. 17
(b) A former employee has the right to request, within three (3) years subsequent to the 18
date of their separation from the employer, a written description of the quota to which they were 19
subject as of the date of their separation, a copy of the employee's own personal work speed data 20
for the six (6) months prior to their date of separation, and a copy of aggregated work speed data 21
for similar employees at the same establishment for the six (6) months prior to their date of 22
separation. 23
(c) Such requested records pursuant to this section shall be provided at no cost to the current 24
or former employee. 25
(d) The employer shall provide such requested records pursuant to this section as soon as 26
practicable; provided that, requested written descriptions of the quota shall be provided no later 27
than two (2) business days following the date of the receipt of the request and requested personal 28
work speed data and aggregated work speed data shall be provided no later than seven (7) business 29
days following the date of the receipt of the request. 30
(e) Nothing in this section shall require an employer to use quotas as defined in this chapter 31
or monitor work speed data. An employer that does not monitor this data has no obligation to 32
provide it. 33
28-60-7. Unlawful retaliation. 34
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(a) No person, including, but not limited to, an employer, their agent, or person acting as 1
or on behalf of a hiring entity, or the officer or agent of any entity, business, corporation, 2
partnership, or limited liability company, shall discharge or in any way retaliate, discriminate or 3
take adverse action against any person for exercising any rights conferred under this chapter, or for 4
being perceived as exercising rights conferred by this chapter, including, but not limited to: 5
(1) Initiating a request for information about a quota or personal work speed data pursuant 6
to § 28-60-6. 7
(2) Making a complaint related to a quota alleging any violation of §§ 28-60-3, 28-60-4 8
and 28-60-6 to the director, any other local, state, or federal governmental agency or official, or the 9
employer. 10
(b) An employee need not explicitly refer to this chapter or the rights enumerated in this 11
chapter to be protected from an adverse action. Protections of this section shall apply to former 12
employees and to employees who mistakenly, but in good faith, allege violations of this chapter. 13
(c) If a person takes adverse action against an employee within ninety (90) days of the 14
employee's engaging or attempting to engage in activities protected by this chapter, such conduct 15
shall raise a rebuttable presumption that the action is an adverse action in violation of this chapter. 16
Such presumption may be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence that: 17
(1) The action was taken for other permissible reasons; and 18
(2) The engaging or attempting to engage in activities protected by this chapter was not a 19
motivating factor in the adverse action. 20
28-60-8. Requirements for basing discipline on quota compliance. 21
If the employer wishes to discipline an employee for work under quota, the employer shall 22
provide a written explanation to the employee regarding the manner in which the employee failed 23
to perform, including the applicable quota and comparison of work performance to that standard. 24
28-60-9. Posting of notices in the workplace related to quotas. 25
Employers subject to this chapter shall post a notice in the workplace regarding workers' 26
rights under the chapter, including what constitutes a permissible quota, as well as the employees' 27
right to request quota and speed date information, and to make a complaint to various state 28
authorities regarding violation of an employee's quota rights. 29
28-60-10. Enforcement. 30
The director of the department of labor and training shall adopt rules and regulations 31
implementing the provisions of this chapter. The director shall be authorized to enforce the 32
provisions of this chapter and to assess civil penalties in a manner consistent with state law. 33
28-60-11. Workplace inspections. 34
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If a particular worksite or employer is found to have an annual employee injury rate of at 1
least one and one-half (1½) times as high as the warehousing industry's average annual injury rate 2
as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics' most recent Fatal and Non-fatal Occupational 3
Injuries and Illnesses data, the director shall conduct an investigation of violations pursuant to this 4
chapter. 5
28-60-12. Private right of action. 6
(a) A current or former employee or their representative may bring an action for injunctive 7
relief to obtain compliance with this chapter and may, upon prevailing in the action, recover costs 8
and reasonable attorneys' fees in such action. 9
(b) In any action involving a quota that prevented the compliance with applicable 10
regulations on workplace safety and health or meal or rest break requirements, the injunctive relief 11
shall be limited to suspension of the quota and restitution and injunctive relief to address any 12
retaliation or other adverse action taken by the employer in relation to the complaint or its 13
enforcement. 14
(c) In any action involving a retaliation in violation of this chapter, in addition to the relief 15
authorized in this section, a prevailing current or former employee or their representative shall be 16
awarded damages equal to the greater of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or three (3) times the actual 17
damages, including, but not limited to, unpaid wages and benefits. 18
28-60-13. Enforcement by attorney general. 19
The attorney general, either upon their own complaint or the complaint of any person acting 20
for themselves or the general public, has the authority to prosecute actions, either civil or criminal, 21
for violations of this chapter, or to enforce the provisions of this chapter, independently and without 22
specific direction of the director. 23
28-60-14. Severability. 24
If any provision of this chapter, or any application of any provision of this chapter, is held 25
to be invalid, that shall not affect the validity or effectiveness of any other provision of this chapter, 26
or of any other application of any provision of this chapter, which can be given effect without that 27
provision or application; and to that end, the provisions and applications of this chapter are 28
severable. 29
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on September 1, 2023. 30
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- WAREHOUSE WORKER
PROTECTION ACT
***
This act would require employers to provide each employee, defined as a nonexempt 1
employee who works at a warehouse distribution center, upon hire or within thirty (30) days of the 2
effective date of this chapter, with a written description of each quota to which the employee is 3
subject, including the quantified number of tasks to be performed or materials to be produced or 4
handled, within the defined time period and any potential adverse employment action that could 5
result from failure to meet the quota. This act also would provide each employee with protections 6
against quotas and remedies for violations of those protections, including, but not limited to, 7
unlawful retaliation or dismissal. 8
This act would take effect on September 1, 2023. 9
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