Over the next few weeks, Seattle, WA will be considering an ordinance to provide employees of large employers predictability and flexibility in the scheduling of their work hours. The ordinance, called the Secure Scheduling Proposal, will require giving workers advance notice of their work schedules, pay them for on-call hours, provide them the opportunity to work additional hours, and give them the right to refuse unscheduled hours. The City Council is expected to vote on the proposal in September.
Covered Employers
The ordinance would apply to:
- Retail establishments with at least 500 employees worldwide,
- Food service establishments with at least 500 employees worldwide, and
- Full-service restaurants with at least 500 employees and at least 40 establishments worldwide.
Affected Employees
The ordinance would apply to the scheduling of non-exempt employees who work at least 50 percent of their work hours inside the Seattle city limits.
Major Features
The law would require an employer to:
- Provide at the time of hire an estimate of the number of hours per week that an employee can expect
- Post two weeks’ in advance a notice of work schedules
- Engage in an interactive process with the employee regarding scheduling preferences
- Provide at least 10 hours off between shifts, unless the employee consents otherwise
- Pay employees for on-call shifts even if they are not called into work
- Pay employees one hour of “predictability pay” whenever an employer changes the worker’s schedule or cuts hours
- Offer additional hours to current employees before new employees can be hired
The ordinance would also allow an employee to refuse work not included on the employee’s schedule. Further, the law would protect employees from retaliation for exercising their rights under the law.
Fair Scheduling Reform
The increased interest in “fair scheduling” laws reflects a public awareness of some of the issues faced by employees with unpredictable work schedules including economic instability and conflicts with other responsibilities such as child care, other jobs and school schedules. Oregon, California, New York, North Carolina, Connecticut, Washington D.C., and Illinois are also considering scheduling legislation. Seattle’s neighbor San Francisco is the first to test a “Retail Workers Bill of Rights” that requires giving certain employees advance notice of their work schedules and rights when the schedule changes. San Francisco’s final rules just went into effect in March so it may be too soon to appreciate the full impact of the law.
Large retail and food service employers may wish to follow this trend in their locations.