New California law protects warehouse workers at companies like Amazon, supporters say
CBSN
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill Wednesday establishing first-of-its-kind protections for warehouse workers.
The new law, which will impact companies such as Amazon and other major retailers, forces them to disclose production quotas and productivity metrics to warehouse employees and government agencies. Companies will have 30 days from the date someone is hired to provide an employee with a written description of the quotas they need to meet.
The law also prohibits employers from penalizing or firing warehouse workers for failing to meet quotas because they took restroom or meal breaks. Companies are barred from retaliating against employees who complain and fail to meet "unsafe" quotas. The measure also gives workers the right to go to court to seek relief.
Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.
The knock at the door came at nighttime on Mother's Day 2008 in Oregon, where Jessica Ellis' parents lived. It was around 9:20 p.m. and his wife, Linda, was already in bed; her father Steve Ellis told CBS News, that he thought someone let their animals out — but two soldiers in Class A uniforms were standing at the door.