California Law Changes Coming in 2022

2022 brings on so many new laws for us Californians. Here are three new laws to look out for in 2022. While you might not see the effects and changes right away (some of them are still in the works or won’t be enforced until way later). 

In regards to Bacon:

Surprisingly, or maybe it’s just a surprise to me, California is the nation’s largest market for bacon and pork. Which means that there has been some concern that the new laws surrounding the living space conditions for breeding pigs might lead to a shortage or or increased prices of bacon and pork products.

The new law comes from a 2018 proposition in which California passed in a 2:1 ratio. As a result, the new standards “require that breeding pigs, egg-laying chickens and veal calves be given enough space to stand and turn around. For pigs, that means they no longer can be kept in narrow gestation crates and must have 24 square feet (2.23 square meters) of usable space.”

But most hog producers haven’t made any changes to comply with these standards. And there has been pushback not only from these hog producers but also grocery stores who are concerned about a possible shortage of pork in the nation’s largest market for it. There are also concerns about price increases and job losses.

So should we all stock up on bacon while we can? California is allowing pork processed under the old standards and stored properly to be sold in 2022. This means that the California pork market should be drastically affected in the beginning of the year.

In regards to Warehouse Workers:

California is the first state to ban warehouse retailers (like Amazon) from firing employees for not completing quotas when it might interfere with bathroom and rest breaks.  This comes after many inverstations found “that the rate of serious injuries at Amazon warehouses has been nearly double the industry average.” But I mean, is that statistic that surprising? We all have heard the horror stories of being an Amazon worker. Honestly, I’d rather wait the extra days for my packages if it means that employees are able to properly have their breaks.

The Garment Industry is also seeing some changes. California passed the Garment Worker Protection Act, which makes it the first state to require garment workers to be paid hourly. Previously, garment workers were paid by the piece which meant they often made less than 5 dollars per day of work.

In regards to Gender Neutral Store Displays:

California is the first state to require large department stores to display children’s products like toys and toothbrushes in gender-neutral ways. The requirement doesn’t apply to clothes and won’t eliminate the traditional girl and boy sections; however, stores will have a gender-neutral section.

But you might not see any changes any time soon. Enforcement of this law won’t happen until 2024.