Oregon has officially become the first state to pass a predictable scheduling law. The law will take effect on July 1, 2018, and applies to food service, hospitality, and retail industries. The law’s stated purpose is to enhance the predictability of work schedules for nonexempt employees and to secure much needed periods of rest between shifts.
Generally, the law follows the general trend of such laws, and will require employers to:
- Provide new employees with a written good faith estimate of the employee’s schedule at the time of hire and provide any changes to such schedule in writing;
- Maintain a list of employees who are willing to pick up additional hours if they become available;
- Provide work schedules at least 7 days in advance, which will increase to 14 days in 2020; and
- Notify employees of any changes to the schedule in a timely manner
Consistent with most other similar laws, employers cannot:
- Require an employee to work any shift not included in the employee’s written work schedule;
- Schedule or require an employee to work during the first 10 hours following the end of the previous day’s work without employee consent;
- If an employee agrees to work a shift with less than 10 hours of a break between shifts, the employer must pay one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate for all hours worked; and
- Discriminate or retaliate against employees who exercise their rights under the new law.
Oregon might be the first state to pass such a law, but it is not the first of its kind. This summer, New York City passed its own predictive scheduling law which will take effect on November 26, 2017. The New York City law places far more restrictions on employers than the one recently passed in Oregon. Among other things, it requires 14 days’ notice of schedules and requires employers making scheduling changes to pay premiums (financial penalties) to affected employees. And not to be out done, the City of St. Louis is considering adopting New York City’s law (although progress on St. Louis’s bill is slow at best).
Employers affected by predictive scheduling laws should plan ahead and revise their policies and procedures and develop a plan for compliance. Employers not affected (either by reason of their industry or location) should be paying attention to these changes. Predictive scheduling legislation is being discussed across the country and it is only a matter of time before the idea gains more and more traction.
Brody and Associates regularly advises management on complying with state and federal employment laws. If we can be of assistance in this area, please contact us at info@brodyandassociates.com or 203.454.0560.
