---
[ STATE WATCH ](https://www.citywatchla.com/state-watch)
# California Public School Students Will Learn About Labor Rights Under First-of-Its-Kind Law
October 05 2023
Written by Julia Conley.
[](https://www.addtoany.com/share)
LABOR RIGHTS - While Republican-controlled state legislatures have[ rolled back ](https://www.commondreams.org/news/iowa-bill-child-labor-laws)child labor protections this year, Democratic lawmakers and rights advocates in California on Monday celebrated Gov. Gavin Newsom's signing of a first-of-its-kind law that they say will make young people less vulnerable to workplace abuses by teaching them about labor protections.
Assemblymember Liz Ortega (D-20) [told ](https://contracosta.news/2023/10/02/ortega-announces-new-law-to-prevent-child-labor-exploitation/)the *Contra Costa News* that Assembly Bill 800 is aimed at "giving kids the tools to stand up for themselves" as Republican lawmakers attack unions as well as making it easier for companies to employ children as young as 14 to work in industrial facilities.
"I am so proud to announce the passage of this first-of-its-kind law requiring schools to teach our kids about their workplace rights," said Ortega. "We are seeing headlines about children abused at workplaces across the country―wage theft, violations of labor law, and even serious life-changing injuries."
Under A.B. 800, all public high schools in California will hold "Workplace Readiness Week" as part of their curriculum.
Students will gain a "strong understanding of their rights as workers, as well as their explicit rights as employed minors" and learn about their right to join or organize a union in their workplace.
The law intends "to equip pupils with this knowledge to protect them from retaliation and discrimination, to ensure that these young workers receive all wages and benefits to which they are entitled, to empower them to refuse unsafe work when necessary, and to prepare them to assert their labor rights whenever these rights are threatened,"[ according to](https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB800/id/2837153) the bill text.
Newsom announced the bill's signing on Saturday.
The California Labor Federation, which helped develop the legislation, noted that the law was approved shortly after a federal court ordered the owners of 14 Subway franchise stores in the San Francisco Bay Area to pay employees nearly $1 million in back pay and damages.
An investigation [found ](https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/subway-franchisee-in-bay-area-fined-1-million-ordered-to-sell-businesses/?taid=6517304e3f76e8000158e3bc&utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter)that the owners assigned minors to work hours that are illegal under California law and required children as young as 14 to operate dangerous equipment, as well as illegally keeping tips instead of distributing them among workers and failing to pay employees regularly.
Such reports are "why we worked on A.B. 800," said the federation.
"Too often, young workers face wage theft, unsafe conditions, sexual harassment, or other abuses at work," Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, chief officer of the California Labor Federation, told the *Contra Costa News*. "By requiring that high school students be taught their rights as employees, A.B. 800 empowers young people with the information and tools they need to understand their rights as workers and protects them against workplace abuses."
Republicans in a number of states and in Congress have [claimed](https://edworkforce.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=173054) to want to [prioritize](https://www.cbia.com/news/issues-policies/senate-republicans-workforce-development/) "workforce development"—making education about workplace rights "a commonsense no-brainer," according to the operator of the Daily Union Election account on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
In 2021, 109 workers aged 19 or younger died from work-related injuries in the United States, and more than 33,000 teenagers were hospitalized for serious injuries sustained at work.
In July, a 16-year-old boy from Guatemala named Duvan Pérez [died from injuries](https://www.commondreams.org/news/mississippi-poultry-plant-teen-dies)he got while cleaning equipment at a poultry plant in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, employers are barred from hiring anyone under the age of 18 to work in slaughtering, meat processing, or packing facilities, with limited exceptions. The law bans workers from operating or cleaning meat processing equipment.
Minors are disproportionately employed in sectors that account for nearly half of all wage theft claims, which totaled more than $338 million in stolen wages in 2021, and in industries where sexual harassment, discrimination, and abuse from clientele or management is reported at high rates.
*(Julia Conley is a staff writer for Common Dreams which first published this article.)*
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/107 "LA DWP | Save $4K, Green | Priority Ad")
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/98 "Donna Tryfman - HS1-1")
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/82 "LA DWP #2 (Power Savers)")
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/111 "David DeJute Campaign")
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/97 "Home - LA DWP #2 (Pay Water Bill Help)")
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/112 "Anna Reitano Vertical R. Col")
## Get The News In Your Email Inbox Mondays & Thursdays
Email
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/110 "Something You Should Know")
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/113 "Rhonda Haymon campaign")
---
## Featured CityWatch Stories
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/voices/33461-are-small-businesses-and-workers-fighting-their-true-adversary-in-the-fast-food-battle)
### [Are Small Businesses And Workers Fighting Their True Adversary In The Fast-Food Battle?](https://www.citywatchla.com/voices/33461-are-small-businesses-and-workers-fighting-their-true-adversary-in-the-fast-food-battle)
THE WORKPLACE - On Sept. 8, the Los Angeles City Council voted to get one step closer to expanding Fair Work Week to fa…
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/neighborhood-politics/33486-why-would-la-voters-elect-a-city-attorney-who-has-never-tried-a-case-in-court-in-front-of-a-jury)
### [Why Would LA Voters Elect A City Attorney Who Has Never Tried A Case In Court In Front Of A Jury?](https://www.citywatchla.com/neighborhood-politics/33486-why-would-la-voters-elect-a-city-attorney-who-has-never-tried-a-case-in-court-in-front-of-a-jury)
OP-ED - I am writing to my neighbors over my deep concern about the candidacy of Marissa Roy for Los Angeles City Attor…
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/la-watchdog/33463-dwp-ratepayers-streetlights-and-the-lack-of-transparency)
### [DWP Ratepayers, Streetlights, and the Lack of Transparency](https://www.citywatchla.com/la-watchdog/33463-dwp-ratepayers-streetlights-and-the-lack-of-transparency)
LA WATCHDOG - At its September 22 meeting, the politically appointed Board of Water and Power Commissioners approved a…
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/election-2024/33455-nithya-raman-asked-jewish-los-angeles-to-trust-her-her-own-words-made-that-harder)
### [Nithya Raman Asked Jewish Los Angeles to Trust Her. Her Own Words Made That Harder.](https://www.citywatchla.com/election-2024/33455-nithya-raman-asked-jewish-los-angeles-to-trust-her-her-own-words-made-that-harder)
ELECTION 2026 - Nithya Raman walked into the Skirball Cultural Center with an opportunity. She could speak directly to…
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33456-whos-watching-the-billions-at-laccd)
### [Who’s Watching the Billions at LACCD?](https://www.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33456-whos-watching-the-billions-at-laccd)
BUSINESS OF EDUCATION - There is a $9.9 billion government institution in Los Angeles with nine colleges, thousands of…
---
## [ STATE WATCH ](https://www.citywatchla.com/state-watch)
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/state-watch/33288-60-minutes-governance-breakdown-threatens-californias-ghost-trains-future)### [“60 Minutes": Governance Breakdown Threatens California’s Ghost Train’s Future](https://www.citywatchla.com/state-watch/33288-60-minutes-governance-breakdown-threatens-californias-ghost-trains-future)
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/state-watch/33230-california-hates-your-car)### [California Hates Your Car](https://www.citywatchla.com/state-watch/33230-california-hates-your-car)
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/state-watch/33134-they-once-taught-about-a-hero-now-faculty-rethink-cesar-chavez-lessons-after-allegations)### [They Once Taught About A Hero. Now Faculty Rethink César Chávez Lessons After Allegations](https://www.citywatchla.com/state-watch/33134-they-once-taught-about-a-hero-now-faculty-rethink-cesar-chavez-lessons-after-allegations)
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/state-watch/33125-in-california-880-pedestrians-a-year-are-killed-walking-after-dark-making-it-the-seventh-deadliest-state-in-america-for-nighttime-pedestrian-fatalities)### [In California, 880 Pedestrians a Year Are Killed Walking After Dark, Making It the Seventh Deadliest State in America for Nighttime Pedestrian Fatalities](https://www.citywatchla.com/state-watch/33125-in-california-880-pedestrians-a-year-are-killed-walking-after-dark-making-it-the-seventh-deadliest-state-in-america-for-nighttime-pedestrian-fatalities)
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/state-watch/33061-why-an-elder-abuse-law-firm-is-vital-for-protecting-seniors)### [Why an Elder Abuse Law Firm Is Vital for Protecting Seniors](https://www.citywatchla.com/state-watch/33061-why-an-elder-abuse-law-firm-is-vital-for-protecting-seniors)