HB 1493

As introduced: - Grants employees the right to self-organization and to participate in collective bargaining through representatives of their own choosing. - Prohibits an employer from taking adverse action against an employee for engaging in such activity. - Prohibits an employer from requiring an employee to attend a meeting or receive a communication regarding the employer's opinion on religious or political matters. - Requires warehouse employers that use automated quotas to provide employees with written description of the quota and the quota may not prevent meal or rest breaks. - Creates the Construction Worker Standards Board, the Healthcare Worker Standards Board, the Hospitality Worker Standards Board, the Manufacturer and Warehouse Worker Standards Board, the Retail and Food Service Worker Standards Board, and the Trucking and Transportation Worker Standards Board. - Establishes penalties for violations. - Provides that if the federal enforcement of the National Labor Relations Act is diminished or narrowed, then the Georgia Department of Labor will assume jurisdiction to certain bargaining units and adjudicate unfair labor practices. - Grants an employee a private right of action for warehouse quota, captive audience, and right to organize violations. - Requires an annual report to the Governor and Legislature on the findings of all of the boards. - Eliminates at-will employment by requiring employers to show "just cause" for employee termination. - Redefines the standard for classifying workers by implementing a strict "ABC test," which presumes most workers are employees rather than independent contractors. - Enacts "fair scheduling" rules for large employers in the retail, food service, and hospitality industries, requiring advance notice of schedules and extra pay for last-minute changes.