NYC May Make Work-Life Balance Into A Law

There's a new bill being talked about in NYC for it's call on work-life balance for employees in the city. Brooklyn Councilman Rafael Espinal, introduced a bill on Thursday March 22nd called "The Right To Disconnect." Now that our phones can be linked up to multiple email accounts, social accounts etc. it has become more likely that your work doesn't just stay in the 9 to 5 gap like it use to. Now that you can read and answer work emails at home, you are more likely to hop on and do work during off hours. 

Under this new bill it will be ILLEGAL for bosses to expect their employees to working during these 'non-work hours.' The bill says, "A Local Law to amend the New York city charter and the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to private employees disconnecting from electronic communications during non-work hours." The summary of the bill reiterates that this piece of legislation would, "make it unlawful for private employees in the city of New York to require employee to check and respond to email and other electronic communications during non-work hours." 

If this bill does get passed, NYC will be the first city in the United States to make it illegal for private employers to work after hours. 

Councilman Espinal told the Observer, “I think this is a win-win, not only for the employee but also for the employers because their employees, with that time… [they can] decompress, reduce anxiety and be able to perform better when they get to the work the next day.”

This bill will give employees the option to work during non-work hours if they wanted to, but employers will no longer be able to require it or demand attention from their employers outside of office hours. 

If an employer doesn't follow this they will be fined $250 each time. If a firm retaliates against their employees that follow the proposed law, they will be required to pay their employees full compensation, along with a $500 fine. If the employee is fired the employer can be fined up to $2,500. 


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