A new California bill would give employees the right to ignore calls and texts by their boss after working hours.

The legislation, introduced by Assemblyman Matt Haney (D-CA) of San Francisco, mandates that employers must clearly outline working hours and then guarantee their employees uninterrupted personal and family time outside of those hours.

So if the boss calls and it’s not an emergency, the employee could legally ignore it without repercussions. The law would apply to public and private employers. If an employer breaks the rules three times, he or she could be reported to the state’s labor commission by employees and be subject to fines starting at $100.

“Work has changed drastically compared to what it was just 10 years ago,” Haney said in a statement. “Smartphones have blurred the boundaries between work and home life. Workers shouldn’t be punished for not being available 24/7 if they’re not being paid for 24 hours of work.”

If passed, California would be the first in the country to implement a “right to disconnect” law.  

A similar version was floated in New York City in 2018, but it was not adopted.

Haney said he got the idea from Australia’s new law, slated to be rolled out later this year. Australia, in turn, got the idea from France. So far, various versions of the law have been passed in 13 countries, including Canada, Italy, Belgium, Mexico, Portugal, and Spain.

Haney said the end goal is a healthy work-life balance.

“There’s an availability creep that has reached into many people’s lives, and I think it’s not a positive thing for people’s happiness, for their well-being, or even for work productivity,” he said. 

Haney added that his bill is not intended to say people can’t work longer hours or have an agreement in place where they’re on call.

“The problem we have now is the gray area, where an employee is expected to respond all the time when on paper they work a 9-to-5 job,” he said.

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Collective bargaining agreements would supersede the law, so teachers and other unionized workers would be covered by whatever their contracts say about off-hours communication.

Haney’s bill has been referred to the Assembly Labor Committee to be heard.