Philadelphia, PA: Fair Workweek Ordinance Coming 2020

Effective January 1, 2020, Philadelphia employers in the retail, fast food, and hospitality industries will have new requirements imposed on their scheduling and pay practices.  The Fair Workweek Employment Standards Ordinance (the “Ordinance”) applies to large employers of 250 or more employees, inclusive of full-time, part-time, temporary, and seasonal employees.  Key provisions of the Ordinance require covered employers to:

• Provide newly hired employees with written good faith estimates of their work schedule (including the average number of hours an employee would expect to work each week).
• Provide employees a written work schedule at least 10 days in advance (increasing to 14 days’ advance notice on January 1, 2021).
  • Employers must notify employees of any changes to proposed work schedules promptly and prior to the change taking effect.
  • Employers may make changes to the schedule up to 24 hours after the schedule is posted.
  • Changes made after the 24 hour period triggers “predictability pay,” calculated by the employee’s hourly rate of pay and paid each time the employer makes a qualifying change on top of the employee’s regular rate for hours worked.
• Give consideration to employee requests regarding work scheduling, such as requests not to be scheduled at certain times or locations.
• Permit employees to decline additional shifts without penalty, if the additional shift begins less than nine hours after the end of the previous shift.
• Pay employees who accept such additional shifts $40 per accepted shift.

Employees who are covered by a collective bargaining agreement may waive requirements of the Ordinance if set forth in the agreement in clear terms. In addition to the above requirements, the Ordinance also requires employers to display a notice and retain records related to scheduling and pay.