For the managers responsible for mapping out the schedules of the almost 3.8 million Americans who are working in the quick service restaurant industry, the process can be an overwhelming ordeal.
The American quick service restaurant workforce is one of the biggest and scheduling can be a big challenge for managers (Image Source).
It comes as no surprise that many quick service restaurant employees get their schedules just a couple of days before their new shift schedule starts. Often, these schedules are modified as managers see fit to meet business requirements.
As lamented by fast-food employee turned author Emily Guendelsberger, “So many fast-food and retail workers don’t get their schedule until a day or two before it starts. It leaves workers in these industries unable to plan their lives (or their budgets) more than a few days in advance.”
The Government’s Response: Predictive Scheduling
As the schedule-related predicaments of quick service restaurant employees came to light, the government responded with the implementation of predictive scheduling.
As its name suggests, predictive scheduling is a staffing practice wherein fast-food restaurant employees get their schedules with a reasonable amount of lead time. In 2014, predictive scheduling first became law in San Francisco and a number of other cities followed suit. Predictive scheduling laws are also commonly called Fair Workweek ordinances.
For managers and restaurant owners who are in charge of employee scheduling, legal compliance may add another layer of complexity to an already arduous task. As explained by David Jones, a proprietor of restaurants in and around Seattle, “Predictive scheduling regulations are really the first time that scheduling practices have impacted the end pay of the employee, and managers need to change their mindset around managing labor as it isn’t just dependent on that actual clock in/out process.”
Compliance starts with knowing the basics of the law. With this in mind, here are 4 facts that quick service restaurants need to know about predictive scheduling.
1. 6 Cities, 1 State
There is no nationwide law that obliges fast-food restaurants to implement predictive scheduling. Hence, the first thing quick service restaurants need to check is whether their state or city is covered by an active or soon-to-be-active predictive scheduling law.
Currently, there are 6 cities and 1 state that implement predictive scheduling in their jurisdictions. These are:
- Oregon (the only state with a state-wide predictive scheduling law)
- San Francisco, CA
- Emeryville, CA
- New York, NY
- Seattle, WA
- Philadelphia, PA
- Chicago, IL
This may come as a surprise, but there are 4 states—Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, and Tennessee—that have laws disallowing predictive scheduling.
Active predictive scheduling laws are in the form of city ordinances, with the exception of Oregon where it’s state-wide legislation (Image Source).
Of course, there’s nothing stopping restaurants who are not covered with a predictive scheduling law from implementing this shift management practice, especially because of the benefits to both employers and employees.
2. Different, But Similar at the Same Time
Each city has its own version of a Fair Workweek ordinance, but they all cover the following basic provisions:
- Advanced schedule notice: the required number of days in advance quick service restaurant employees should receive their schedules must be reasonable.
- Good faith estimates: new hires need to be given an estimate of the average number of hours they will be working.
- Rest period: a minimum number of hours between an employee’s shifts to avoid “clopening” or employees working back to back shifts.
- Premium pay for schedule changes: quick service restaurant employees are paid an additional premium if changes are made to their schedules within the 14-day period.
- Offer additional hours to employees: If there are hours that need to be filled, additional work should be offered to current employees first before restaurants can bring in new employees, seasonal workers, or freelancers.
Here are the pertinent details on the existing Fair Workweek laws that fast-food restaurants need to follow by city/state:
Oregon
Effectivity: August 8, 2017.
Advanced notice: Currently 7 days in advance but will be 14 days in advance on July 1, 2020.
Good faith estimates: Median number of hours the employee can expect to work in an average one-month period.
Rest period: At least 10 hours between shifts.
Premium pay for schedule changes: Depending on what changes and when the changes are made.
Restaurants covered: Food service establishments that employ 500 or more employees worldwide, including but not limited to a chain or an integrated enterprise.
San Francisco, CA
Effectivity: July 3, 2015.
Advanced notice: 14 days.
Good faith estimates: A written estimate of the minimum number of hours that employees can expect to work per month and the days and hours of those shifts.
Rest period: 11 hours.
Premium pay for schedule changes: Provide “predictability pay” if schedules change with less than 1 week’s notice (with some exceptions).
Restaurants covered: Food service establishments that have at least 40 branches worldwide and at least 20 employees in San Francisco.
Emeryville, CA
Effectivity: January 1, 2018.
Advanced notice: 14 days.
Good faith estimates: Provide an estimate of work hours in writing prior to the start of employment.
Rest period: 11 hours.
Premium pay for schedule changes: Predictability pay varies between 1 hour to 4 hours’ worth of employees’ wages, depending on when the changes are made.
Restaurants covered: Fast-food firms with 56 or more employees globally and 20 or more employees in Emeryville.
New York City, NY
Effectivity: May 30, 2017.
Advanced notice: 14 days.
Good faith estimates: Provide new hires with a written estimate of days, times,
hours, and locations workers can expect to work during their employment. New estimates need to be provided in case of changes.
Rest period: 11 hours.
Premium pay for schedule changes: $100 premium for employees working “clopening” shifts. Premium pay for last-minute schedule changes are as follows:
Fast-food restaurant employees in New York City are entitled to the above premium pay for last-minute schedule changes (Image Source).
Restaurants covered: Fast-food restaurants with 30 or more locations in the United States.
Seattle, WA
Effectivity: July 1, 2017.
Advanced notice: 14 days.
Good faith estimates: Upon hire, employers must provide a good faith estimate of the median hours an employee can expect to work, and whether the employee will work on-call shifts.
Rest period: 10 hours.
Premium pay for schedule changes: Compensation for work schedule changes are covered if changes are made to the employees’ schedules outside of the 14-day window: additional hours, subtracted hours, grace periods, and on-call hours.
Restaurants covered: Food services establishments with more than 500+ employees worldwide.
Philadelphia, VA
Effectivity: April 1, 2020.
Advanced notice: 14 days.
Good faith estimates: Good faith estimates should contain the average number of hours an employee can expect to work each week over a 90-day period, days and times of expected work, and whether employees should expect to work on-call shifts.
Rest period: 9 hours.
Premium pay for schedule changes: Predictability pay for changes made outside of the 14-day advanced notice period.
Restaurants covered: Food services establishments with 250 or more employees and 30 or more locations worldwide.
Chicago, IL
Effectivity: July 1, 2020.
Advanced notice: 10 days; 14 days beginning July 1, 2022.
Good faith estimates: A good faith estimate should contain the average number of hours an employee can expect to work each week, days and times of expected work, and whether employees should expect to work on-call shifts.
Rest period: 10 hours.
Premium pay for schedule changes: One hour of predictability pay for every affected shift when employers change schedules after the 10-day advanced notice period but not less than 24 hours before a scheduled shift. Not less than 50% of an employee’s regular hourly rate for any scheduled hours that employees don’t work due to canceled shifts or subtracted hours.
Restaurants covered: Food services establishments with 250 or more employees and 30 or more locations worldwide.
These are just the most basic details of the predictive scheduling laws that are currently active or soon-to-be-active. It’s pretty clear that while there are slight differences, the essence of the ordinances is pretty much the same.
3. Penalties for Non-Compliance with Predictive Scheduling
As these are official city and state laws, there are corresponding penalties for non-compliance. The penalties can range from $500 to $1,000 per infraction. This can quickly add up and eat into the revenue of a fast-food restaurant.
Aside from the monetary repercussions, being in hot water with the government is never good news for any type of business. Sometimes, authorities may have a “how you do one thing is how you do everything” attitude when looking at labor law violations. This means that if a fast-food chain is not following one law, there could be other laws that they could be violating.
Further, violations of labor laws are always highlighted in the press, which is bad news for quick service restaurants, especially among those that are part of big franchise brands.
4. Technology Can Help Managers with Compliance
Fast-food restaurant managers preparing the schedules of their employees in compliance with Fair Workweek laws may feel like they’re working the counters during lunchtime rush hour—it can be stressful and exhausting.
At the end of the day, it’s never going to be a 100% walk in the park, but it shouldn’t feel like a Herculean task either.
Enter technology.
Digital transformation has made a number of workplace processes more efficient and scheduling is no different. The good news is that quick service restaurants don’t need to invest a ton of money on fancy algorithmic scheduling solutions. There are simple, cost-effective tools available to help with predictive scheduling compliance.
For instance, time tracking and scheduling software that most offices are using to track logged hours and attendance can be used to comply with predictive scheduling laws. With time tracking software, fast-food restaurants are able to comply with predictive scheduling laws through:
- Having a central database for employees to access their pre-plotted shifts in advance
- Having accurate estimates of the number of works hours, days, and times employees should expect to work based on historical data
- A digital portal where employees can make requests for schedule changes
- A scheduling system that easily integrates with payroll solutions to account for any predictability pay that should be included in an employee’s paycheck
- A simple dashboard for managers that allows them to quickly visualize any “clopening” scenarios
- An analytics database that can be used to improve scheduling overall
Reducing the Predictability Scheduling Overwhelm
Many people tend to underestimate the stress fast-food employees may experience not having a consistent or predictable schedule. Getting their schedules in advance is a great way for fast-food employees to remain engaged and productive at work. In short, predictive scheduling laws are there for a reason and more cities are gearing up to implement their own version in the near future.
That said, it’s also understandable for restaurant managers to feel intimidated with this new layer of compliance they need to be mindful of. By arming themselves with the basic facts about the predictive scheduling law prevailing in their area, and with the help of a simple-to-use scheduling technology, predictive scheduling doesn’t have to be an added burden.
Author Bio
Dean Mathews is the founder and CEO of OnTheClock, an employee time tracking app that helps over 9,000 companies all around the world track time.
Dean has over 20 years of experience designing and developing business apps. He views software development as a form of art. If the artist creates a masterpiece, many people’s lives are touched and changed for the better.
When he is not perfecting time tracking, Dean enjoys expanding his faith, spending time with family, friends and finding ways to make the world just a little better. You can find Dean on LinkedIn.
If you need help with your hiring technology, get in touch with our Sales Team today!