AB 800 Establishes Workplace Readiness Week to Educate High School Students on Workers’ Rights and the Labor Movement

Assembly Bill 800 becomes effective in California on August 1, 2024.  The bill establishes the week including April 28 as Workplace Readiness Week, which shall be a part of Labor History Month in May each year.  During this week, all public high schools, including charter schools, will be required to provide students in grades 11 and 12 with information on workers’ rights, including laws on child labor, wage and hour protections, worker safety, workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, paid sick leave, paid family leave, state disability insurance, the California Family Rights Act, and the prohibition against misclassification of employees as independent contractors.  Schools will also be required to educate these students on their right to organize a union in the workplace, prohibitions against retaliation, and the labor movement’s role in winning labor protections for workers. Furthermore, schools must provide students with an introduction to state-approved apprenticeship programs as an alternative career path.

Under this new law, before a minor is issued a work permit, they must also be provided with a document clearly explaining their basic labor rights.  The law encourages the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education to produce a draft template of this document with input from labor organizations.  The document will also be translated in multiple languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Korean.

This bill is extremely critical to ensure that young people entering the workforce are informed of their rights.  It is also a significant win for unions, as young people will be educated on the role of the labor movement in helping secure workers’ rights, and informed of their right to organize and join a union as they start working.  For more information on this bill, please contact your labor law counsel.