A Philadelphia ordinance that will require certain employers to provide workers with advance notice of their schedules will now take effect April 1 instead of Jan. 1.
Among other requirements under the city's Fair Workweek Law, covered employers must provide employees with good faith estimates of their average work schedules. This particular requirement will not be enforced until July 1, 2020, according to an announcement by the Philadelphia Mayor's Office of Labor.
We've rounded up articles and resources from SHRM Online and other trusted media outlets on predictable scheduling laws.
City Officials Are Drafting Regulations
The Philadelphia Mayor's Office of Labor is developing a report to respond to public comments and testimony made in response to the new requirements. City officials announced that they will develop regulations based on the report and will make the report and the final regulations available to the public. They estimated that the process should be completed by mid-to-late December. "Due to the short amount of time between the anticipated posting of final regulations and Jan. 1, 2020 … the effect date of the law will be postponed until April 1, 2020," according to the city's website.
(City of Philadelphia)
Law Covers Certain Large Businesses
The new law will cover retail, hospitality and food service establishments that employ 250 or more workers—including workers outside of Philadelphia—and have 30 or more locations worldwide. Workers must receive premium pay if their employer changes their hours or work location, or if the hours are unscheduled.
(Bloomberg Law)
Scheduling Laws Gain Momentum on City and State Level
San Francisco was the first city to pass a comprehensive predictable-schedule in 2015, and cities such as Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia and Seattle followed. Oregon became the first state to approve a scheduling law when Gov. Kate Brown signed S.B. 828 in 2017. "If more cities and states pass predictive scheduling measures, employers will have to either tailor policies to geographic regions or adopt a universal policy by selecting the most restrictive requirements," said Courtney Blanchard, an attorney with Nilan Johnson Lewis in Minneapolis. Employers often blend the two approaches by creating policies with some "universal" provisions and limiting the most burdensome practices to specific regions, she added.
(SHRM Online)
Democrats Considers Federal Scheduling Law
The proposed Schedules That Work Act—which has not passed in prior legislative sessions—would require employers to provide retail, food service and cleaning service employees with their schedules in advance and to pay premiums when schedules are changed, when employees report to work but are sent home, and when they work back-to-back shifts. The bill would also require certain businesses to engage in an interactive dialog with workers who request schedule, assignment and work location changes. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., introduce the legislation on Oct. 17.
(SHRM Online)
How to Address Predictable Scheduling Laws
Given the recent rise in popularity of these laws, it is important for employers to understand what these laws are, where they are most likely to encounter them, and what steps they can take to make sure they're abreast of the most up-to-date compliance strategies.
(SHRM Online)