If you’re unaware of the new labor laws affecting hourly workers emerging all across the states, now is the time to get caught up before you receive a hefty fine. In this post, we’ll tell you what they are and clarify how best to comply with these new predictive scheduling regulations.
What is predictive scheduling?
Cities like San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York City, and the states of Oregon and Vermont have adopted predictive scheduling laws to give workers schedules that are more predictable. They’ve all adopted laws that differ from place to place, but they all have similar rules, which go as follows:
- Businesses must post schedules at least 7 days before the first scheduled shift.
- At the time of hire, businesses must provide a written estimate of the employee’s work schedule.
- Before hiring a new employee, current and part-time employees must be offered more hours.
- If an employer changes an already posted schedule, the employee gets extra pay (typically one extra hour).
- Unless a worker volunteers to work during a rest period, there must be adequate time to rest between shifts.
- For a certain amount of time, businesses must keep all scheduling records.
Why the adoption of predictive scheduling laws?
For hourly workers, particularly those in the food, hospitality, and retail industries, schedules often vary each week. To make it easier for them to plan their schedules, they’ve been demanding predictable schedules. This will make it much easier to plan their weeks, such as scheduling appointments, taking/picking up kids from school, and predict how much they will earn each month.
Hourly workers have also been frustrated with on-call work assignments, where they have to be available to work even if they don’t get called in. And others are unhappy with their unstable work schedules that make it difficult to know how much they’ll make each pay period. Between the above reasons and others, predictive scheduling offers workers the ability to plan their lives around work and get a better idea of how much they will be receiving each month.
The results of predictive scheduling laws
Predictive scheduling laws have proven to be beneficial in many ways to both employers and employees. However, some issues have come up. For example, it has led to less flexibility in scheduling, problems with fluctuating labor needs, and the ability to offer extra shifts at a moment’s notice.
But we’ve also seen companies adjust to the laws. For instance, companies are offering volunteer sign-up list schedules for those that want the extra shifts. Businesses are also seeing a lower turnover now that employees have a better work/life balance. People are even going to school since they know they’ll be able to make it to all their classes.
However, one of the biggest issues companies are experiencing right now has to do with compliance, especially those that operate in different cities. Smaller companies may also need to update or replace their staffing systems because of the new laws.
How can you prepare for these new regulations?
These new predictive scheduling laws are putting pressure on businesses and their scheduling systems. But with an automated scheduling solution from Infinitime that has native support for predictive scheduling laws, you’ll ensure schedules are made in advance, determine employee availability, and stay in compliance with every operational rule.