What's happening
This bill requires large retail, hospitality, and service employers to provide at least 10 hours rest between shifts or pay overtime, with penalties for violations.
Why it matters
Addresses "clopening" shifts. The bill specifically targets situations where employees are scheduled for closing and then opening shifts with minimal rest, which can lead to fatigue, lower productivity, and negative health outcomes.
Applies to large employers in key industries. Only businesses with 500+ employees nationwide in retail, hospitality, cleaning, and food service are covered, meaning it targets companies most likely to use aggressive scheduling practices that disrupt employee work-life balance.
Provides strong anti-retaliation protections. Employees are explicitly protected from being punished or threatened for refusing to work without sufficient rest, reducing fear of speaking up about scheduling abuses.
Establishes significant financial penalties. Employers risk both state fines and mandatory triple damages (or at least $100/day) paid directly to affected workers for violations, creating a serious deterrent against non-compliance.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Guarantee Rest Between Shifts
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Assembly Member · Assembly District 25
No co-sponsors yet.
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 Rest Between Work Shifts
In Senate Committee · Labor · Sponsor James Sanders Jr.
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
325
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. ROZIC -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to providing for rest between work shifts
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 168-a to read as follows:
§ 168-a. Right to rest between work shifts. 1. An employer may not schedule or require an employee to work during the following rest periods:
a. the first ten hours following the end of the previous calendar day's work shift or on-call shift; or
b. the first ten hours following the end of a work shift or on-call shift that spanned two calendar days.
2. An employee may request or consent to work during hours otherwise prohibited under subdivision one of this section. An employer shall compensate an employee for each hour or portion of an hour that an employee works during a rest period at one and one-half times the employee's regular rate of pay.
3. This section shall apply only to an employer who is deemed to be a 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, and who provides services in the retail trade sector, or provides hospitality service, housekeeping or cleaning services, or accommodation and food services, as such terms are defined under the North American Industry Classification System, except in the case of hospitality service, in which case such term shall have the same meaning as the definition of a hotel and motel under the North American Industry Classification System.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01168-01-9
A. 325 2
4. It shall be an unlawful practice for an employer to retaliate or in any way discriminate against an individual with respect to any term or condition of employment or threaten such action due to an employee rejecting a request by an employer to work during a prescribed rest period.
5. Any employer who violates this section shall forfeit to the people of the state the sum of one thousand dollars for each violation, to be recovered by the commissioner in any legal action necessary, and shall pay to the aggrieved employee damages of an amount equivalent to three times the value of owed wages for shifts worked in violation of this section, or at least one hundred dollars for each work day that the violation occurred or continued to occur.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.