A Brooklyn lawmaker wants to make it illegal for bosses to require their employees to respond to emails or texts after normal work hours.

Under Councilman Rafael Espinal Jr.’s (D-Bushwick) proposed “Right to Disconnect” legislation, private employers with at least 10 workers would be also be prohibited from retaliating against employees for not responding to those electronic communications once they clock out for the day.

“After leaving the office, many of us are glued to our phones refreshing our Instagram feeds, but often times we are also keeping up with our work and bosses,” Espinal said.

“While technology has increased access to people and ideas, it’s also made it possible for employees to be on-call 24/7. We need to establish clear boundaries for employees so they can maintain a healthy work-life balance and live without fear of retaliation for not answering work communications after work hours.”

Espinal’s bill has no co-sponsors as of yet.

Councilman Donovan Richards (D-Far Rockaway) introduced a similar bill last year which only covered municipal employees – where the council has greater authority to legislate. Yet that bill never made it out of the Committee on Civil Service and Labor.

Still, Espinal said he’s hopeful because similar laws – allowing employees to power down smartphones after work – have passed in nations like France, Germany, Italy and the Philippines.

Additional reporting by David K. Li