California Employment Bill Designed to Protect Workers' Rights

Chico, CA While one California labor lawsuit appears almost settled, some blue collar workers argue their California labor law rights are constantly being violated, bringing California labor code and federal labor laws to the forefront of the media's attention.

According to American Banker (9/28/12), Tri Counties Bank will pay up to $2.5 million to settle allegations made in a class action lawsuit that the bank did not properly pay employees for overtime hours worked. Specifically, the plaintiffs allege assistant branch managers were misclassified as exempt from overtime pay, a violation of California labor law. The bank will pay between $2.1 million and $2.5 million, depending on how many class participants file claims.

Meanwhile, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill designed to protect people who work as temporary labor in warehouses and distribution centers. The bill requires the agencies that provide workers for the warehouses and distribution centers to provide documents proving they obey the laws and can pay their workers. The bill will take effect January 1, unless delayed by legal action.

The bill's supporters say it will help ensure temporary workers are paid for the hours they work and have safe working conditions.

In September 2012, warehouse workers who load trucks to deliver to Walmart walked off the job protesting what they called terrible working conditions. A letter reportedly sent to Walmart executives (found online at takeaction.walmartwatch.org) cites unsafe working conditions??"including broken equipment and inadequate access to clean drinking water??"low pay and common injuries. "Right now, the temperatures in Riverside and San Bernardino top 100 degrees daily and inside the metal containers the temperature can get up to 120 degrees," letter writers Limber Herrera and Marta Medina write. "There is little ventilation and the heat and pollutants we inhale can make us vomit and bleed from the nose. We face intense retaliation from management if we say anything about the conditions."

According to Huffington Post (9/14/12), Marta Medina, one of the letter writers, reportedly reached her limit when she was eight months pregnant and told to ship 2,000 boxes in one hour. Workers at the warehouses are not directly employed by Walmart, but are instead employed by subcontractors.

A spokesperson for Walmart said service providers and subcontractors are expected to comply with the law.