Today's Law As Amended


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AB-1492 Employment: Telecommuting Act.(2019-2020)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.
 This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Telecommuting Act.

SEC. 2.

 Part 4.6 (commencing with Section 1460) is added to Division 2 of the Labor Code, to read:

PART 4.6. Telecommuting Employees

1460.
 (a) Notwithstanding Section 512, any nonexempt employee who works from home and is not under the physical control of the employer may choose when to take any meal period or rest period during the workday, if the employer has not already scheduled a meal or rest period within the requirements of the law. An employer shall notify the employee of the employee’s right to take a meal or rest period as provided by Section 512 of the Labor Code and wage orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission.
(b) An employer shall only pay one additional hour of pay for each day that the employer fails to notify the employee who works from home of the employee’s right to take a meal or rest period under this code or wage orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission, or requires an employee to work without a meal or rest period.
(c) An employer shall not retaliate against any employee who exercises any rights pursuant to this section.
(d) Except for the timing of when meal periods and rest periods occur as set forth in subdivision (a), this section does not supersede the responsibility of employers to relieve their employees of all duty, to relinquish control over their activities, to permit them a reasonable opportunity to take uninterrupted breaks, and to not impede or discourage them from doing so, as set forth in Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court (2012) 53 Cal.4th 1004, 1040.
1461.
 (a) Any employee who works from home and is not at the physical location of the employer may receive all required notices and postings under this code electronically.
(b) Any employee who works from home and is not at the physical location of the employer may utilize an electronic signature for any employment-related documents that require acknowledgment of receipt or attestation.

SEC. 3.

 Section 2802.2 is added to the Labor Code, to read:

2802.2.
 (a) An employer shall indemnify an employee who works from home for all physical equipment in the home reasonably necessary to perform the employee’s work duties, including, but not limited to, a computer, a printer, and a scanner, unless the equipment is provided by the employer. An employer may establish procedures that require the prior approval of an equipment purchase by an employee, unless the need for the equipment is unforeseeable and is required to be purchased immediately to perform the work duties.
(b) An employer shall indemnify an employee who works from home for a reasonable percentage of the employee’s monthly internet and telephone costs to the extent those costs are necessary for performance of their work duties, as estimated by the employee, unless the employer already fully covers those expenses.
(c) In lieu of reimbursing or indemnifying an employee for the exact costs, an employer may provide the employee with a monthly voucher the amount of which is based upon an employee’s reasonable estimate of the reimbursable expenses provided for pursuant to this section.
(d) An employer may require an employee to provide documentation to support the employee’s reasonable estimate of reimbursable expenses or request for indemnification.
(e) An employer shall not retaliate against an employee who seeks reimbursement or indemnification of any expenses pursuant to this section.
(f) This section does not supersede any employee rights provided under Section 2802 of the Labor Code.