Employers and Predictable Schedules in the Restaurant Industry
The Fair Workweek Law went into effect in New York City on November 26, 1917, and it affected employers in the fast food and retail industries. Under the law, employers had to provide employees with good faith work schedule estimates. They had to notify employees about how much time they were scheduled to work and when they would work. In other words, employers would provide predictable work schedules. They also had to provide the opportunity to work newly available shifts before they could hire new workers. Employers were obligated to offer existing employees the work first.
Under this law, employers must give workers their written work schedule at least 14 days prior to the date of the first shift in the schedule. A “clopening” shift is a term that applies to working two shifts over two days when the first shift ends and there are less than 11 hours between shifts. Employers must get the worker’s consent in writing for working a clopening shift and must pay them a $100 premium to work it.
More details about this law are available at the NYC Consumer Affairs Fast Food and Retail Workers page.
Chipotle Sued under Fair Workweek Law
In September 2019, New York City filed the first lawsuit for violations of the Fair Workweek Law. The city sued Chipotle, which has locations in Brooklyn and Manhattan. The restaurant chain has more than 2,500 locations nationwide. Workers at the Brooklyn locations filed dozens of complaints with the city regarding scheduling violations.
The city alleges that they violated the Fair Workweek Law with more than 30 employees. Furthermore, the city is seeking $1 million in penalties and restitution for the employees. In addition, the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection is investigating the 11 Manhattan restaurant locations for violations.
In response to the filings, the representative for Chipotle has stated that the company is working with the city, is committed to complying with all laws and that the lawsuit filing was unnecessary. (Reference: Fox Business News)
At Stephen Hans & Associates, we inform employers about new employment laws, offer legal advice and represent them in employment disputes.
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