“Fair workweek” initiatives are on the increase . Cities like Chicago, New York, and more passing legislation to guard part-time workers in retail and foodservice industries. Often mentioned as “predictive scheduling,” these laws require business owners to share employee schedules beforehand and compensate their employees if schedules change without proper notice.
This also means big changes for business owners—including a fundamental shift within the way many schedule and manage employees. Here’s what you would like to know when on-call scheduling is no longer on the table.
Below are the highest five fair workweek questions answered by our VP of HR, LeeAnn Belski. Read on to seek out answers to all your other fair workweek questions.
What is “fair workweek”?
Whether called “fair workweek,” “advanced scheduling,” or “secure scheduling,” these terms all ask new city and state regulations that require employers to make and share employee schedules in advance. Many (if not most) of those laws also mandate a minimum of days’ notice and additional pay if employers change employee schedules at the last minute.
When did fair workweek start?
San Francisco was the first city in the United States to pass a fair workweek law in 2014, with many localities following quickly after. But sweeping changes started happening in 2015 when nine state attorneys general put several large retailers on notice for his or her on-call scheduling practices. By 2017, companies like Gap, Target, and Disney had all stopped using on-call scheduling. Today, even more businesses are moving faraway from on-call scheduling due to mounting court cases and increased scheduling regulation.
Why the change?
The basics of a good schedule are having the right resources in the right place at the right time. On-call scheduling could seem like the best way to match your staff to customer demand—and give yourself some wiggle room should things change. However, only 30% of schedule changes are literally attributed to customer traffic.
Just-in-time scheduling may grant business owners some flexibility, but it doesn’t work so well for the people that make your business run. actually , just-in-time scheduling costs your employees and your business even extra money than it saves. Unpredictable scheduling causes employees to experience more work-related stress, harder home lives, and more financial instability. All a recipe for unengaged and unproductive employees.
In comparison, employees who receive their schedules beforehand are less likely to miss shifts and are typically more productive during their shifts. Research shows that when employees have predictive schedules, sales also go up too, even up to 7%.
Which employees do fair workweek laws apply to?
It can differ from city to city and state to state, but most fair workweek laws apply to part-time hourly workers in hospitality, retail, or food service industries. In some places, your business must have a minimum number of locations and employees to qualify. Many of those laws are aimed at businesses with multiple locations and a large workforce (typically 50 employees or more), but could still apply to smaller businesses in certain cases also .
Does this mean I can never change employee schedules again?
Making changes to schedules after they’re posted isn’t impossible, but include a price. In San Francisco , if you modify an employee’s schedule with less than seven days’ notice, you owe employees one to four hours of additional pay, counting on the amount of notice given and the length of their shift. If an employee agrees to figure different hours than they were scheduled to in Chicago, they’re owed one hour of “predictability pay.” They’re also eligible to receive half their scheduled pay if their employer cuts their hours.
How will this affect my business?
Depending on your business and how you currently schedule employees, fair workweek laws could cause a ripple—or a tsunami . If you already schedule employees beforehand , you’ll have to make some small adjustments, but no drastic changes overall. However, if you currently add a just-in-time or on-call schedule, your entire scheduling model will need to change to comply with fair workweek regulations.Some businesses argue that fair workweek laws put an excessive amount of burden on employers since not complying results in hefty fines and complying often means investing in new scheduling software or administrative tools. Although new tools come at a price , the value of disengaged employees and employee turnover can be much higher, costing employers up to 50% of every employees’ annual salary to replace them.
Scheduling Impact
What will I need to change about my scheduling?
Every fair workweek law may be a little different, but most include the identical scheduling requirements:
Employers must issue employee schedules beforehand (up to 21 days in advance in some cases)
Employers must provide electronic copies of employee schedules
Employees shouldn’t be scheduled for a closing shift and opening shift within the identical 10-hour window
Employers must give long-term employees first claim to additional hours before seasonal employees and must provide written “good faith estimates” of predicted working hours for all new employees
Employers must provide additional pay if employees’ scheduled hours change without advanced consent or prior notice
Again, the impact of those changes will depend on how you currently schedule employees. If you print and post weekly schedules on a bulletin board, complying with fair workweek laws will take more effort than if you already schedule employees online or with an app.
Do i want to rethink how I’m creating my schedule now?
Even if your city or state doesn’t have fair workweek laws, more and more localities are embracing them per annum . this might mean investing in a different or more robust software platform that can support advanced scheduling. To start, you’ll need how to account for fair workweek requirements and a way for employees to easily check and confirm their schedules online.
How much will fair workweek scheduling tools cost?
Many scheduling software platforms charge per employee per month, while others charge per site or business location per month. counting on your number of employees, it could cost anywhere from $1.50 to $3 per employee per month.
Why buy something you can do for free? What you may be saving in your budget is costing your business even more: your time. Over half employers report spending at least two hours each week working on employee schedules, et al. say they’ve spent up to twelve. That’s quite a day of work spent on one task, hebdomadally . That’s valuable time you’ll be using to grow your business instead.
Preparing for Fair Workweek
When will new fair workweek regulations enter effect?
Many fair workweek regulations are already in effect or are going to be in the next year. Between 2014 and today, quite five major cities and two states have passed fair workweek or advanced scheduling laws. Oregon’s state-wide fair workweek law went into effect in 2018. the foremost recent regulation in Chicago was passed in July 2019 and takes effect July 2020, the identical year as Philadelphia’s fair workweek law. Several other major cities have already got their own fair workweek regulations underway.
Which cities and states have fair workweek regulations?
So far, Oregon and New Hampshire are the sole states to pass fair workweek laws. Fair workweek laws have passed within the following cities and localities:
San Jose, CA
San Francisco, CA
Emeryville, CA
Seattle, WA
New York City, NY
Philadelphia, PA
Chicago, IL
Keep in mind, these are only the places that have actually passed fair workweek regulations. l. a. is considering a fair workweek law, together with Boston and the state of Illinois.
Even if you don’t see your city or state on this list, fair workweek laws aren’t going anywhere. Track proposed fair workweek ordinances in your area by fixing a Google alert for your “location + fair workweek law”. Stay updated with new ordinances being proposed at your council level, and follow employment law sites like JD Supra.
How am i able to start preparing for fair workweek laws?
Fair workweek laws are getting an inevitability, but changing your scheduling system doesn’t need to happen overnight. There some initial steps you can take to get your business and your employees ready for the change.
One place to begin: start looking into scheduling software which will give employees the right notifications for schedule updates and an easy way to check their schedules online. Release employee schedules earlier in order that your team is used to receiving their schedules in advance. Practice working through the kinks that come up.
Complying With Fair Workweek Regulations
How do I suits new regulations?
Currently, there are not any federal fair workweek laws. to form sure you’re following the right requirements for your location, make certain to check your state and city ordinances or get in touch with your local chamber of commerce. If you are doing need to adjust your business practices to comply, you’ll have to rethink how you create your workplace schedule and put the infrastructure and resources you need in place to share employee schedules in advance.
How will i buy my employees to comply?
Chances are, your employees are going to be happy to receive their schedules in advance. They’ll have monetary incentives, more predictable income, and a far better work-life balance – which contributes to better employee engagement and productivity. And employees can still tweak their schedules or work more shifts than they’re assigned, like volunteering for “clopening” shifts. Under fair workweek laws, employers can’t make employees work closing and opening shifts but 10 hours apart unless their employees specifically request or agree to work. If employees do comply with “clopen” during their required rest period, employers may pay time-and-a-half for the hours.
Will I be fined if I don’t comply?
Yes—violating fair workweek laws often include hefty fines and penalties for business owners. Employers in ny could incur fines of up to $75 for each change to the schedule. In Oregon, employers need to pay employees for half of the hours not worked if they schedule a shift and then cancel it, also as give employees one additional hour of pay when hours are added to their schedules without notice. In Chicago, violating the city’s new fair workweek ordinance could cost employers up to $500 for each violation.
What if my business still requires some sort of on-call scheduling?
Some businesses will always require someone to be on-call. counting on the size of your team, you’ll still fulfill fair workweek scheduling requirements and have a plan in case of emergencies.
Have an inventory in place of employees who have more flexible schedules and can come in on short notice. Put only some employees on the “on-call” list and give the rest of your team predictable hours. Have a primary go-to, a person , then a backup for that person, etc. Then, founded an on-call order and alternate that order for each shift so that your go-to employee isn’t always the same person. You’ll have to give employees extra pay when they work a volunteer shift. But, a minimum of you’ll know someone will always be there to give an extra hand.
