New York’s Warehouse Worker Protection Act requires warehouses to provide you with a written description of your quota and protects you from unreasonable quotas that interfere with your breaks. Is your warehouse violating the Warehouse Worker Protection Act? Let us know so we can support you!

Your Rights

The Warehouse Worker Protection Act requires distribution centers to disclose work speed data to current and former employees to inform them about their job performance and rights in the workplace. The written description of the quota must include the number of tasks to be performed, materials produced or handled, the applicable time-period in which the tasks must be performed, and any discipline that could result from failure to meet the quota.

The Warehouse Worker Protection Act applies to all warehouses in New York with at least 100 employees. It also applies to all warehouse companies with at least 1,000 employees across their New York warehouses.

Right to your quota:

• Warehouse companies were required to provide all employees with written documentation of their quota by July 19, 2023 and to all new hires after that date.
• Every time the quota changes, the company must provide you with written documentation of your quota within two days.
• You can request your quota at any time. Your employer must provide it to you within 14 days.
• If you have been disciplined for failure to make your quota or for time-off-task you may request a written description of the quota to which you are subject, a copy of the most recent 90 days of your personal work speed data, and a copy of the aggregate work speed data for similar employees at your warehouse during the same time period. Your employer must provide it to you within 14 days.
• If you believe that your quota has interfered with your ability to take bathroom, meal, or rest breaks, including travel time to the bathroom, you may request a written description of the quota to which you are subject, a copy of the most recent 90 days of your personal work speed data, and a copy of the aggregate work speed data for similar employees at your warehouse during the same time period. Your employer must provide it to you within 14 days.
• The documentation related to your quota must be provided in English and your primary language.

Protection from discipline:

• You cannot be disciplined or terminated for failing to meet a quota that your employer has not previously provided in writing.
• You cannot be disciplined or terminated for failing to meet a quota that prevents you from taking your bathroom, meal, or rest breaks, including travel time to the bathroom.
• You cannot be disciplined in retaliation for exercising your rights under this law, such as requesting your quota or making a complaint. If your employer disciplines you within 90 days of making a request or complaint, it is on the employer to prove that it did not retaliate against you. Retaliation beyond 90 days is also unlawful.

My company says they don’t have quotas or rate, but I’m still getting disciplined for not working fast enough or for time-off-task

The Warehouse Worker Protection Act has a very broad definition of a quota. Under the law, “a quota is a work standard that requires an employee to perform at a specified productivity speed, complete a quantified number of tasks, handle or produce a quantified amount of material within a defined time-period, or meet a similar type of performance standard for which an employee may be disciplined if they fail to complete it. A quota also exists where an employee’s actions are categorized between time performing tasks and not performing tasks, and the failure to complete a task performance standard or recommendation may have an adverse impact on the employee’s employment or other conditions of employment.”

If your warehouse has work standards that meet this definition, then your employer has to respect your rights under the Warehouse Worker Protection Act.