PROHIBITION OF EMPLOYER INTERFERENCE WITH EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIPS AND ACTIVITIES AND REGULATIONS OF EMPLOYER DRUG TESTING OF EMPLOYEES

SF-LABOR pt. DIVISION I: PROTECTION OF WORKERS IN THE CITY, art. 51

in effect

SF Labor and Employment Code § 51.1 POLICY.

SEC. 51.1. POLICY. It is the public policy of the City and County of San Francisco that all citizens enjoy the full benefit of the right to privacy in the workplace guaranteed to them by Article 1, Section 1 of the California Constitution. It is the purpose of this Article to protect employees against unreasonable inquiry and investigation into off-the-job conduct, associations, and activities not directly related to the actual performance of job responsibilities. (Added as Police Code Sec. 3300A.1 by Ord. 527-85, App. 12/2/85; redesignated by Ord. 221-23, File No. 230835, App. 11/3/2023, Eff. 12/4/2023, Oper. 1/4/2024)

SF Labor and Employment Code § 51.2 DEFINITIONS.

SEC. 51.2. DEFINITIONS. (1) Employee shall mean any person working for salary or wages within the City and County of San Francisco, other than members of the uniformed ranks of the police, sheriff’s and fire departments, police department communication dispatchers, and any persons operating emergency service vehicles for the City and County of San Francisco. (2) Employee labor organization shall mean any organization that exists and is constituted for the purpose, in whole or in part, of collective bargaining or of dealing with employers concerning grievances, terms or conditions of employment, or of other mutual aid or protection. (3) Employer shall mean the City and County of San Francisco, any individual, firm, corporation, partnership, or other organization or group of persons however organized, located or doing business within the City and County of San Francisco, that employs personnel for salary or wages, or any person acting as an agent of such an organization. (Added as Police Code Sec. 3300A.2 by Ord. 527-85, App. 12/2/85; redesignated by Ord. 221-23, File No. 230835, App. 11/3/2023, Eff. 12/4/2023, Oper. 1/4/2024)

SF Labor and Employment Code § 51.3 EMPLOYER INTERFERENCE IN PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS OF EMPLOYEES PROHIBITED.

SEC. 51.3. EMPLOYER INTERFERENCE IN PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS OF EMPLOYEES PROHIBITED. No employer may make, adopt, or enforce any rule or policy forbidding or preventing employees from engaging or participating in personal relationships, organizations, activities, or otherwise restricting their freedom of association, unless said relationships, activities, or associations have a direct and actual impact on the employees’ ability to perform their assigned responsibilities. (Added as Police Code Sec. 3300A.3 by Ord. 527-85, App. 12/2/85; redesignated by Ord. 221-23, File No. 230835, App. 11/3/2023, Eff. 12/4/2023, Oper. 1/4/2024)

SF Labor and Employment Code § 51.4 CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.

SEC. 51.4. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. It is not the intention of the Board of Supervisors in adopting this Article to prohibit an employer from promulgating or enforcing rules or policies prohibiting conflicts of interest, which prohibit employees from making, participating in making, influencing or in tempting to influence decisions in which they have a financial interest, as such would be defined under Government Code Section 81000 et seq. were they public officials, or which prohibit employees from being financially interested, within the meaning of Government Code Section 1090, et seq. were they public employees, in any contract made by them in their capacity as employees. (Added as Police Code Sec. 3300A.4 by Ord. 527-85, App. 12/2/85; redesignated by Ord. 221-23, File No. 230835, App. 11/3/2023, Eff. 12/4/2023, Oper. 1/4/2024)

SF Labor and Employment Code § 51.5 EMPLOYER PROHIBITED FROM TESTING EMPLOYEES.

SEC. 51.5. EMPLOYER PROHIBITED FROM TESTING EMPLOYEES. No employer may demand, require, or request employees to submit to, to take or to undergo any blood, urine, or encephalographic test in the body as a condition of continued employment. Nothing herein shall prohibit an employer from requiring a specific employee to submit to blood or urine testing if: (a) The employer has reasonable grounds to believe that an employee’s faculties are impaired on the job; and (b) The employee is in a position where such impairment presents a clear and present danger to the physical safety of the employee, another employee or to a member of the public; and (c) The employer provides the employee, at the employer’s expense, the opportunity to have the sample tested or evaluated by State licensed independent laboratory/testing facility and provides the employee with a reasonable opportunity to rebut or explain the results. In conducting those tests designed to identify the presence of chemical substances in the body, and not prohibited by this Section, the employer shall ensure to the extent feasible that the test only measures and that its records only show or make use of information regarding chemical substances in the body which are likely to affect the ability of the employee to perform safely his or her duties while on the job. Under no circumstances may employers request, require or conduct random or company-wide blood, urine or encephalographic testing. In any action brought under this Article alleging that the employer had violated this Section, the employer shall have the burden of providing that the requirements of Subsections (a), (b) and (c) as stated above have been satisfied. (Added as Police Code Sec. 3300A.5 by Ord. 527-85, App. 12/2/85; redesignated by Ord. 221-23, File No. 230835, App. 11/3/2023, Eff. 12/4/2023, Oper. 1/4/2024)

SF Labor and Employment Code § 51.6 MEDICAL SCREENING FOR EXPOSURE TO TOXIC SUBSTANCES.

SEC. 51.6. MEDICAL SCREENING FOR EXPOSURE TO TOXIC SUBSTANCES. Nothing in this Article shall prevent any employer from conducting medical screening, with the express written consent of the employees, to monitor exposure to toxic or other unhealthy substances in the workplace or in the performance of their job responsibilities. Any such screenings or tests must be limited to the specified substances expressly identified in the employee consent form. (Added as Police Code Sec. 3300A.6 by Ord. 527-85, App. 12/2/85; redesignated by Ord. 221-23, File No. 230835, App. 11/3/2023, Eff. 12/4/2023, Oper. 1/4/2024)

SF Labor and Employment Code § 51.7 PROHIBITING USE OF INTOXICATING SUBSTANCES DURING WORKING HOURS; DISCIPLINE FOR BEING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF INTOXICATING SUBSTANCES DURING WORKING HOURS.

SEC. 51.7. PROHIBITING USE OF INTOXICATING SUBSTANCES DURING WORKING HOURS; DISCIPLINE FOR BEING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF INTOXICATING SUBSTANCES DURING WORKING HOURS. Nothing in this Article shall restrict an employer’s ability to prohibit the use of intoxicating substances during work hours, or restrict an employer’s ability to discipline employees for being under the influence of intoxicating substances during work hours. (Added as Police Code Sec. 3300A.7 by Ord. 527-85, App. 12/2/85; redesignated by Ord. 221-23, File No. 230835, App. 11/3/2023, Eff. 12/4/2023, Oper. 1/4/2024)

SF Labor and Employment Code § 51.8 ENFORCEMENT.

SEC. 51.8. ENFORCEMENT. (a) Any aggrieved person may enforce the provisions of this Article by means of a civil action. Any person who violates any of the provisions of this Article or who aids in the violation of this Article shall be liable to the person aggrieved for special and general damages, together with attorney’s fees and the costs of action. (b) Injunction. (1) Any person who commits, or proposes to commit, an act in violation of this Article may be enjoined therefrom by any court of competent jurisdiction. (2) An action for injunctive relief under this subsection may be brought by any aggrieved person, by the District Attorney, or by the City Attorney, or by any person or entity which will fairly and adequately represent the interests of the protected class. (Added as Police Code Sec. 3300A.8 by Ord. 527-85, App. 12/2/85; redesignated by Ord. 221-23, File No. 230835, App. 11/3/2023, Eff. 12/4/2023, Oper. 1/4/2024)

SF Labor and Employment Code § 51.9 CITY UNDERTAKING LIMITED TO PROMOTION OF GENERAL WELFARE.

SEC. 51.9. CITY UNDERTAKING LIMITED TO PROMOTION OF GENERAL WELFARE. In undertaking the adoption and enforcement of this ordinance, the City and County is assuming an undertaking only to promote the general welfare. It is not assuming, nor is it imposing on its officers and employees, an obligation for breach of which it is liable in money damages to any person who claims that such breach proximately caused injury. (Added as Police Code Sec. 3300A.9 by Ord. 527-85, App. 12/2/85; redesignated by Ord. 221-23, File No. 230835, App. 11/3/2023, Eff. 12/4/2023, Oper. 1/4/2024)

SF Labor and Employment Code § 51.10 PREEMPTION.

SEC. 51.10. PREEMPTION. In adopting this Article, the Board of Supervisors does not intend to regulate or affect the rights or authority of an employer to do those things that are required, directed, or expressly authorized by federal or state law or administrative regulation or by a collective bargaining agreement between an employer and an employer labor organization. Further, in adopting this Article, the Board of Supervisors does not intend to prohibit that which is prohibited by federal or state law or administrative regulation or by a collective bargaining agreement between an employer and an employee labor organization. (Added as Police Code Sec. 3300A.10 by Ord. 527-85, App. 12/2/85; redesignated by Ord. 221-23, File No. 230835, App. 11/3/2023, Eff. 12/4/2023, Oper. 1/4/2024)

SF Labor and Employment Code § 51.11 SEVERABILITY.

SEC. 51.11. SEVERABILITY. If any part or provision of this Article, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of this Article, including the application of such part or provision to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected thereby and shall continue in full force and effect. To this end, provisions of this Article are severable. (Added as Police Code Sec. 3300A.11 by Ord. 527-85, App. 12/2/85; redesignated by Ord. 221-23, File No. 230835, App. 11/3/2023, Eff. 12/4/2023, Oper. 1/4/2024)

Source: City and County of San Francisco, Charter and Municipal Codes (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/san_francisco/latest/sf_laboremployment/0-0-0-1420Fetched: 11/1/2026