The line between ‘work’ and ‘home’ has historically been clear for most employees – separated by a distinct office building, worksite, or retail space. Technology has blurred this line in the past few decades and, for some...more
Real World Impact: U.S. employers should be aware of the global trend of “right to disconnect” laws and should review their policies on after-hours communications to stay ahead of social and legal changes....more
Cell phone communications, emails, and texts have been around for decades. According to JB Knowledge’s 2020 Construction Technology Report, 93 percent of construction industry workers use smartphones for work purposes....more
Taking a page from countries across the Atlantic, the California legislature is considering a bill that would give employees the “right to disconnect.” ...more
California once again is at the forefront of the expansion of workplace rights with a first-of-its-kind proposed legislation in the United States that would provide workers with the freedom and the right to disconnect from...more
California lawmakers have introduced legislation that would give employees the right to ignore communications from their employers that are received outside the contours of their “working hours,” which must first be agreed...more
In late March 2024, California Assemblyman Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) introduced a bill, AB 2751, that would recognize a right for employees in California to “disconnect” or ignore communications from their employer during...more
With the sweeping presence of technology today, the boundary between work life and home life has become increasingly blurred. A new bill recently introduced to the California legislature seeks to change that by protecting...more
California Assembly member Matt Haney has introduced the first “right to disconnect” law in the United States, Assembly Bill 2751 (A.B. 2751). Under the proposed legislation, employers would be required to define employees'...more
We have all faced situations where a manager, coworker, or client calls or emails seeking a response outside of normal work hours. While most of us view these interruptions as an unavoidable result of technological progress,...more
It’s 7:30 PM on a Thursday night and you check your phone after finishing dinner – and you see a business emergency starting to brew. You could use some help from your team tonight to gear up for what is bound to be a crazy...more
Australia’s Senate on Thursday, February 8, 2024, passed a bill that would prevent an employer from contacting employees outside of work hours. The bill gives the employee the right to refuse to monitor, read or respond to...more
A través de la Sentencia C-331 de 20231, la Corte Constitucional de Colombia declaró la exequibilidad condicionada del literal (a) del artículo 6 de la Ley 2191 de 2022, el cual disponía que estaban exceptuados de disfrutar...more
Since 1 April 2023, Belgian employers in the private sector with 20 employees or more must include the right to disconnect in collective bargaining agreements or work rules. The right to disconnect applies to all categories...more
Employers in Luxembourg must now consult with their employees and trade unions to set up systems to protect employees’ rights to disconnect. A new law has been passed in Luxembourg, which requires employers to put...more
The pandemic has changed the landscape of an employee’s work life in its entirety. Employees were uprooted from their normal routines and required to work from their homes. The result? Growing concerns regarding burnout and a...more
En novembre 2021, l’Ontario a adopté une loi sur la déconnexion du travail dans le but de veiller à ce que les employés aient suffisamment de temps en dehors du travail, surtout à la suite de la pandémie de COVID-19, laquelle...more
In November 2021, Ontario passed legislation on disconnecting from work (DFW). The goal of the legislation is to ensure employees have adequate time away from work, particularly in light of the blurring of work and personal...more
The federal government recently published its Final Report on the Right to Disconnect. While federal legislation regarding the right to disconnect is yet to be tabled, the government has engaged with federally regulated...more
The "right to disconnect" refers to an employee's ability to not engage in work-related communications (emails, texts, telephone calls, video calls, etc.) while off duty....more
In today’s business climate, work always seems to be on the mind. But should it be? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the productivity of the average American worker has skyrocketed by an astounding 400% since...more
Over the years, the dividing line between work life and private life has become thinner and thinner. Employees tend to feel the pressure to be always on, including during weekends and holidays....more
While the recent implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has understandably dominated the conversation of European legislation's influence on U.S. policy, a pending bill in New York City is noteworthy...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: “Thank you for your email, I will be out of the office from….” New York City employers might soon be seeing a lot more of these “out-of-office” emails from their employees if a recently proposed “Right to...more
If a proposed law is enacted by the New York City Council, employers would be prohibited from requiring employees to check and respond to email or other electronic communications during non-work hours. The bill allows for...more