What's happening
This bill requires large employers in retail, food service, or cleaning to provide advance written work schedules and minimum hours, with penalties for violations.
Why it matters
Creates enforceable predictability for workers. By requiring employers to provide written work schedules and minimum hours in advance, the bill aims to give employees greater stability and the ability to plan their lives, reducing last-minute scheduling changes that can disrupt childcare, schooling, and other responsibilities.
Empowers employees with legal recourse. Employees can sue for damages if not given required schedule notices or if not scheduled for promised minimum hours, potentially deterring employers from violating the law and giving workers a concrete way to recover lost income.
Targets large employers in specific sectors. The law applies only to businesses with 500+ employees in retail, food service, or cleaning, focusing on sectors and companies where unpredictable scheduling is most common, while exempting smaller businesses.
Protects against retaliation. The bill prohibits employers from disciplining, demoting, or otherwise retaliating against workers who assert their rights under this law, which could encourage more employees to speak up about violations without fear of losing their jobs.
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Require Advance Work Schedules
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
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History
- Referred to labor
- Referred to labor
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Require Fair Work Schedules
In Assembly Committee · Labor · Sponsor Nily Rozic
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
347
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 4, 2017
Introduced by Sen. PERALTA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to employee work schedules
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Article 5 of the labor law is amended by adding a new title 2 to read as follows:
TITLE 2
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS Section 171. Definitions.
172. Advanced notice requirements.
173. Exchange of shifts.
174. Prohibited acts.
175. Exceptions.
176. Enforcement.
§ 171. Definitions. As used in this title:
1. "Employer" shall mean any person, corporation, limited liability company, limited liability partnership or association employing five hundred or more full-time employees nationwide or a proportional number of part-time employees, who employs a retail employee, food service employee or cleaning employee.
2. "Employee" shall mean an individual employed as a retail employee, food service employee or cleaning employee by an employer.
3. "Retail employee" shall mean any employee primarily engaged in the sale of items at a retail store engaged in the sale of items to consumers.
4. "Food service employee" shall mean any employee primarily engaged in the service of food or beverage to guests, patrons or customers in the hotel or restaurant industry, including but not limited to, wait
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00157-01-7
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staff, bartenders, captains and busing personnel; and who regularly receives tips from such guests, patrons or customers.
5. "Cleaning employee" shall mean any employee primarily engaged in activities involving cleaning in a commercial context at a commercial or residential setting including, but not limited to, janitors, maids, housekeeping cleaners and building cleaners.
§ 172. Advanced notice requirements. 1. On or before the first day of employment of a retail employee, food service employee or cleaning employee, the employer or its designee shall provide notice to such employee in writing of the employee's work schedule and the minimum number of hours the employee will be assigned on a monthly basis. Upon the provisions of such notice to such an employee, the employer or its designee shall obtain from the employee a signed and dated written acknowledgement, in English and in the primary language of the employee, of receipt of the notice, which the employer shall preserve and maintain for a period of six years.
2. On or before the seventh day after the effective date of this section and every seven days thereafter, each employer or its designee shall provide each employee with the days that the employee has been assigned to work and the hours of work on those days in writing. Scheduling notices shall additionally be posted in a conspicuous place in every workplace of the employer and may be requested by electronic means.
3. The provisions of this section shall not apply during any period where regular operations of the employer are suspended as a result of events beyond the employer's control.
§ 173. Exchange of shifts. Any employees who work for the same employer in the same or substantially similar line of work may mutually agree to exchange work schedules between the two employees. For any change of schedule as a result of this section, the employer shall not be required to provide any notice to any other employees pursuant to section one hundred seventy-two of this title.
§ 174. Prohibited acts. It shall be unlawful for any employer to:
1. interfere with, restrain or deny the exercise of, or attempt to exercise any rights provided to an employee by the provisions of this title;
2. discharge, threaten to discharge, demote, suspend, reduce work hours of or take any other adverse employment action against any employee who exercises or attempts to exercise any rights provided by this title; or
3. discharge or discriminate in any other manner against an individual because such individual has filed any charge, instituted any proceeding, provided any information in connection with an investigation, or testified or is about to testify in any proceeding as a result of the provisions of this title.
§ 175. Exceptions. Nothing in this title shall be construed as prohibiting or conflicting with any provision of law, obligation or collective bargaining agreement that imposes increased levels of protections for employees.
§ 176. Enforcement. 1. For each violation of this title by an employer, the department may assess a civil penalty not to exceed fifty dollars.
2. In addition to any penalty assessed by the department pursuant to subdivision one of this section, any employee, who is not provided with the notice required by subdivision one of section one hundred seventytwo of this title on his or her first day of employment, shall have a
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private right of action against his or her employer for damages equal to fifty dollars for each work day, after the first day of employment, during which the employee is not provided with the required notice, in an amount in the aggregate not to exceed five thousand dollars, plus court costs and attorney's fees.
3. In addition to any penalty assessed by the department pursuant to subdivision one of this section, any employee, who during any month is not scheduled to work the minimum hours of work for the month as stated in the notice provided to such employee pursuant to subdivision one of section one hundred seventy-two of this title, shall have a private right of action against his or her employer for damages equal to the employee's hourly pay rate multiplied by the number of hours which is the result of subtracting the hours the employee actually worked during the month from such employee's stated minimum hours of work for a month, plus court costs and attorney's fees.
§ 2. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section, or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, this judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section, or part of this act directly involved in the controversy in which the judgment shall have been rendered.
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the labor law, in relation to employee work schedules
Purpose
This bill amends the Labor Law by adding a new Title 2 to Article 5 to create a responsibility upon certain employers to provide employees with consistent and predictable work schedules.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 creates a new Title 2 to Article 5 of the Labor Law and includes six subsections pursuant to the new Title. Section 171 dames "employer," "employee," "retail employee." "food service employee" and "cleaning employee" for purposes of the Title. Section 172 creates advanced notice requirements whereby an employer covered by the Title must provide notice of the minimum number of hours the employee will be assigned on a monthly basis, as well as provide seven days notice to an employee as to their scheduled shift; Section 172 also includes posting requirements within covered establishments. Section 173 permits similarly situated employees to exchange work shifts. Section 174 sets forth prohibitions upon employers covered by the Title from interfering with the provisions of the Title and/or retaliating against employees exercising rights covered by the Title. Section 175 sets forth exceptions to the Title. Section 176 sets forth enforcement powers of the Department of Labor, as well as private causes of action by employees in relation to some provisions of the Title.
Section 2 addresses severability of the Title.
Section 3 sets forth the effective date of the Title.
Justification
This bill increases the ability of low-wage earners to plan important aspects of their lives, pertaining especially to the provision of healthcare, childcare and other essential family needs. Employers routinely construct work schedules that vary wildly from week to week, as to the clays of the week worked and total hours scheduled. Too often, work schedules provided 'at the last minute,' result in the inability of employees to effectively manage childcare and healthcare needs, resulting in both increased absenteeism from work and in missing important medical appointments. Some low wage earners are also confronted with work schedules that set forth less hours than expected, further hampering their ability to effectively provide for themselves and their families. This bill increases workers' predictability of income by providing notice of the minimum hours an employee is expected to he scheduled during a given month. This bill also alleviates scheduling concerns by giving employees seven days notice of expected work shifts. as well as allowing covered employees to exchange shifts with similarly situated colleagues. While the Department of Labor holds the power to wage a penalty for each violation of this Title, employees are further provided with a private cause of action to enforce provisions relative to monthly expected hours statements.
Prior legislative history
2015-2016-S4363A
Effective date
This act will take effect ninety days after it becomes law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.