2023 Year in Review: Compliance Advisory

The concept of fair scheduling gained momentum across various jurisdictions last year, and Harri diligently updated its functionalities to align with new requirements. In Los Angeles, Evanston, Berkeley, and Tukwila, we seamlessly supported the implementation of their fair scheduling laws. 

Our enhancements, introduced in 2023, include jurisdiction-specific functionalities, such as LiveSchedule, which allows clients to display available shifts, and Final Fair Workweek Pay, streamlining the resolution of premiums based on the employee’s termination circumstances. 

Jurisdictions with New Fair Scheduling Legislation

Berkeley

Operative Date: January 12, 2024

The Berkeley Fair Workweek Ordinance, enacted in December 2022, introduces crucial modifications for covered employers primarily engaged in the restaurant industry. This ordinance applies to businesses with 100 or more global employees or franchises associated with a network of franchises employing 100 or more employees globally.  

Key Requirements

• Good Faith Estimates: Employers must provide employees with a written good-faith estimate of their work schedule, including an initial work schedule for new employees. Additionally, employees reserve the right to request schedule modifications, with employers mandated to respond in writing.
• Advance Notice of Work Schedules: Employers must provide a minimum of two weeks (14 days) notice for employee work schedules. Special provisions are in place for victims of domestic or sexual violence.
• Offer of Additional Hours: Before hiring new employees, employers must extend the opportunity for additional work hours to existing part-time employees. 
• Right to Rest: Employees can decline work hours less than 11 hours after the end of the previous shift. A special pay provision exists for those who agree to work such a shift.
• Predictability Pay: Employees can decline any previously unscheduled hours with less than 14 days’ notice. Furthermore, predictability pay is now mandatory for schedule changes within this timeframe.  

Evanston

Effective Date: January 1, 2024

Initially effective on September 1, 2023, the Evanston Fair Workweek Ordinance underwent a modification, changing its effective date to January 1, 2024. 

Key Requirements:

• Covered Employers: The ordinance applies to hospitality and retail employers with 100 or more employees globally. For the food service and restaurant industries to be covered, they need a minimum of 30 locations globally and at least 200 employees.
• Good Faith Estimates: Employers must provide a written good faith estimate (GFE) projecting the first 90 days of employment. This estimate must include weekly hours, on-call shifts, and expected work times.
• Advance Notice of Work Schedules: Employers must provide a minimum of two weeks (14 days) notice for employee work schedules, with provisions for victims of domestic or sexual violence.
• Offer of Additional Hours: Before hiring new employees, employers must extend the offer of additional hours to qualified existing part-time employees. 
• Right to Rest: Employees can decline work hours less than 11 hours after the end of the previous shift. A special pay provision exists for those who agree to work such a shift.
• Predictability Pay: Employees can decline previously unscheduled hours added with less than 14 days’ notice. Predictability pay is required for schedule changes within this timeframe. 

Los Angeles

Effective Date: April 1, 2023

The Los Angeles Fair Work Week Ordinance applies to covered employers identified as retail businesses in the North American Industry Classification System (NAIS) with 300 or more global employees.

Key requirements:

• Good Faith Estimates (GFE): Employers must provide new employees with a written Good Faith Estimate of their work schedule before hiring. Employers must also provide this estimate within ten days of the employee’s request in the case of existing employees. 
• Advance Notice of Work Schedules: Employers must provide employees with written notice of work schedules at least 14 calendar days before the work period begins. Employees can decline any hours, shifts, or changes in work location made after this advance notice deadline. 
• Offer of Additional Hours: Employers must offer additional hours to qualified existing employees before hiring new employees. 
• Right to Rest: Employees are not required to work a shift that begins within 10 hours of their last shift without written consent. Those who agree are entitled to compensation at a rate of time-and-a-half for the shift following the inadequate rest period. 
• Predictability Pay: Employees are entitled to Predictability Pay for employer-initiated changes to work schedules made less than 14 days before the work period begins. Unless certain exceptions apply, employees retain their right to Predictability Pay even if they voluntarily agree to such changes.  

Tukwila

Effective Date: July 1, 2023

Initiative No. 1, approved by Tukwila voters in 2022, requires employers with at least 15 employees and a gross revenue over $2 million generated within the city limits to offer additional hours to non-exempt employees covered by the state’s minimum wage laws. Employers with at least 15 employees and a gross revenue over $2 million generated within the city limits must offer additional hours to non-exempt employees covered by the state’s minimum wage laws.

Key requirements:

• Before a covered employer can hire additional employees, they must offer additional work hours to existing qualified part-time employees.

How Harri Supports New Fair Scheduling Legislation

In 2023, Harri implemented functionality and workflows corresponding to the requirements of the following jurisdiction’s Fair Workweek Ordinances:

• Los Angeles, CA
• Evanston, IL
• Berkeley, CA
• Tukwila, WA* 

To enable these rules, select the appropriate jurisdiction from the jurisdiction dropdown under “FWW Premiums” in TeamLive Settings. Once enabled, premiums for schedule changes, warnings, and consent requests can be triggered when scheduling.

Covered employers in the above jurisdictions can also integrate the appropriate Good Faith Estimate into employee onboarding.

*Access to Hours only. (See LiveSchedule below)

Harri Enhancements to Existing Fair Workweek Functionality

NYC & Philadelphia Fair Workweek Enhancements

Harri also made significant enhancements and updates to existing workflows corresponding to the Philadelphia and New York City’s Fair Workweek Ordinances requirements. 

Clients in New York City who are required to comply with the NYC Fair Workweek Ordinance are encouraged to explore the following functionalities that were made available in Harri in 2023:

• Employees can now provide pre-shift consent to work an extended shift at clock-in instead of within 15 minutes following their scheduled end of shift.
• The Regular Schedule Variances page allows employers to document any exceptions for employees whose work schedule has a variance greater than 15% of their regular schedule.

Clients in Philadelphia who must comply with the Philadelphia Fair Workweek Ordinance are encouraged to explore newly available functionality in Harri in 2023:

• 24-Hour Window, a setting developed specifically for Philadelphia, ensures any schedule changes made within the 24 hours following the start of the advance notice period do not trigger a schedule change premium.

Universal Fair Workweek Enhancements

LiveSchedule

Harri rolled out LiveSchedule, a tool to support the Access to Hours requirement of many Fair Workweek Ordinances. LiveSchedule allows clients to display their available shifts to existing employees on a monitor in their place of business. LiveSchedule maintains an up-to-date and current display of all available shifts and tracks how much time each available shift has been open to existing employees.

Final Fair Workweek Pay

Many Fair Workweek jurisdictions prescribe when an employer must pay a reduction in hours premium in the event of a termination. To assist with this process, Harri developed functionality that automates the premium resolution or confirmation review based on the employee’s basis for termination.