In New York, software that measures how fast warehouse employees work falls under the Warehouse Worker Protection Act, which the governor announced as in effect on June 19, 2023 and which remained in force, with a second phase added in 2025, as of October 2026. The law applies to employers with 100 or more employees at a single warehouse distribution center, or 1,000 or more at such centers statewide, and it requires written disclosure of every quota. Its wording turns on the data an employer collects, stores, analyzes, or interprets. A spreadsheet, a warehouse management system, and a machine learning model are therefore treated alike, and the statute never mentions artificial intelligence.
Key takeaways
- A quota under New York Labor Law section 780 includes a required productivity speed, a quantified number of tasks, or a quantified amount of material handled in a defined period.
- Covered employers must give workers a written description of each quota, in English and in the worker's primary language, and must send a notice within two business days when a quota changes.
- Workers can request their own work speed data for the most recent 90 days, and the employer has no more than 14 calendar days to respond, at no cost.
- Paid and unpaid breaks cannot be counted as productive time in a quota or monitoring system unless the worker must stay on call.
- Since June 1, 2025, covered employers must also run an injury reduction program that looks at pace and quotas; no 2026 amendment to the Act appeared in the sources checked in October 2026.
Who the law covers
The New York State Department of Labor page on the Warehouse Worker Protection Act says the law applies to employers with 100 or more employees at a single warehouse distribution center, or 1,000 or more employees at one or more such centers in the state. A warehouse distribution center is defined by industry codes from the North American Industry Classification System: warehousing and storage (excluding farm product warehousing), durable and nondurable goods wholesalers, electronic shopping and mail-order houses, and couriers and express delivery services. The Department of Labor can assess civil penalties, and the Attorney General can bring civil and criminal actions separately.
What counts as a quota and as work speed data
Labor Law section 780 defines a quota as a work standard that an employee must meet at a specified productivity speed, or as a quantified number of tasks, or as a quantified amount of material handled or produced in a defined period. A standard also counts if failing to meet it can bring an adverse employment action. A system that sorts an employee's time into time on task and time off task can create a quota as well.
"Employee work speed data" is information an employer collects, stores, analyzes, or interprets about an individual employee's performance of a quota. It includes the quantities of tasks performed, the quantities of items handled, and the rates or speeds of tasks. Because the definition names analysis and interpretation, scores produced by an algorithm from scanner events fall inside it just as a simple count does. That conclusion comes from the statutory wording, and the law does not single out AI.
What employers must tell workers
The Department of Labor's guidance on quota requirements says an employer must give each worker a written description of every quota on hire. The description states the number of tasks or the amount of material, the time period, and any adverse employment action that could follow a miss. It must be in English and in any other language the worker identifies as primary. If a quota changes, the employer must notify workers in writing within two business days. After any adverse employment action, the employer must again provide the quota description.
Requesting the data behind a quota
Current employees can ask for a written description of their quotas at any time. Current or former employees who believe they were disciplined for missing a quota, or that a quota led to a violation of their meal, rest, or bathroom rights, may also request their own work speed data for the most recent 90 days and aggregate data for similar employees at the same establishment over the same period. The employer must respond as soon as practicable and no later than 14 calendar days after the request, free of charge. A former employee gets one request. Section 785 adds that an employer is not required to use quotas or to monitor work speed data, and an employer that does not monitor has nothing to provide.
Breaks, discipline, and retaliation
A quota cannot prevent lawful meal or rest periods or bathroom use, including reasonable travel time to and from bathroom facilities. Under section 783, paid and unpaid breaks are not productive time in a quota or monitoring system, unless the worker is required to remain on call. An employer cannot take adverse action against a worker for missing a quota that was never disclosed. Section 786 creates a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer takes adverse action within 90 days after a worker first asks in a calendar year about a quota or work speed data, or complains about a violation.
The injury reduction program since June 1, 2025
From June 1, 2025, covered employers must establish and implement an injury reduction program aimed at musculoskeletal disorders among workers who handle material by hand. The Department of Labor describes a written worksite evaluation by a competent person, updated yearly, that assesses risk factors such as rapid pace, forceful exertion, and repetitive motion. The evaluation must determine whether employees exposed to those factors have to meet quotas and what happens if they miss. Employers must try to correct or minimize the hazards, and a correction that will take longer than 30 days needs a written schedule. Workers and supervisors who handle material by hand get training once a year on paid time, and employees and any safety committee are consulted. A safety committee, or an employee-led committee where none exists, can ask for a review of the evaluation by a board-certified ergonomist, which the employer must complete within 30 days.
What changed between 2023 and 2026
The 2023 phase covered quotas, work speed data, and break rules. The second phase arrived on June 1, 2025, with the injury reduction program described above. Between those dates the statute itself was revised: the Senate's page for section 786 lists revisions dated December 27, 2024 and June 6, 2025, and the page for section 780 shows June 6, 2025 as its latest. The Department of Labor page for the Act, read in October 2026, mentions no later amendment and describes the same coverage thresholds as in 2023.
Workers who want to report a problem at a covered center can file a complaint with the Department through its online portal, by emailing a completed form SH550 to the Warehouse Workers inbox, or by mailing the form to the Safety, Health, and Essential Rights office in Albany. The Department states that workers at covered centers are also protected from retaliation for complaints about an injury reduction program. Anyone relying on the Act should check the Department's page again, because rules and agency guidance can change after this date.
A reading aid for software-based pace tracking
The table is an illustrative orientation to how the statute's categories relate to common data points in warehouse software. It is not a compliance checklist.
| Data point a system might record (illustrative) | Likely category under the statute | Where the law speaks |
|---|---|---|
| Items picked per hour | Rate or speed of tasks, work speed data | Sections 780 and 785 |
| Seconds between scans, grouped as idle time | Time on task versus off task, possible quota | Section 780, section 783 |
| Minutes in a break area | Break time, not productive time | Section 783 |
| A warning generated after a low pace score | Possible adverse employment action | Sections 781 and 782 |
| A change to the target rate | Quota change | Written notice within two business days |
Limits of this article
The article covers New York only and describes the law as read from the Department of Labor and the Senate's statute pages on October 27, 2026. Other states have rules on warehouse quotas, but they were not checked here. The article does not evaluate any vendor or any workplace, and it is general information, not legal advice. Questions about a specific situation belong with a qualified employment lawyer or the Department of Labor.
FAQ
Does New York's law mention artificial intelligence?
No. The text defines quotas and work speed data without reference to the technology that produces them, so it applies whether the numbers come from a manual tally or from software.
Can a warehouse employer be required to use quotas?
No. Section 785 states that an employer is not required to use quotas or to monitor work speed data. The law governs disclosure and limits when quotas exist.
How long does an employer have to answer a request for work speed data?
The Department of Labor says the answer is due no later than 14 calendar days after the request, and the records must be free of charge. A former employee may make this request once.
Do the rules cover small warehouses?
Only employers at or above the thresholds: 100 employees at one center or 1,000 across centers in the state. The thresholds are set in section 780.
Related reading
More in AI Tools and Industry.
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- Warehouse Worker Protection Act, New York State Department of Labor, 2026
- Quota Requirements, Prohibitions, and Employee Requests Under the Warehouse Worker Protection Act, New York State Department of Labor, 2026
- Injury Reduction Program requirements, New York State Department of Labor, 2026
- Labor Law sections 780, 781, 782, 783, 785, and 786 (Article 21-A), New York State Senate, accessed October 2026
- Governor Hochul Announces Warehouse Worker Protection Act Now in Effect, Governor of New York, June 19, 2023