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One to Keep an Eye On: Schedules That Work Act (U.S. Congress)


Normally, I reserve the One to Keep an Eye On blogs for cases that are working through the appellate system.  In this case, however, there is a big bill working through Congress now that I wanted to highlight.


Several legislators in Congress introduced a bill called the Schedules That Work Act which seeks to control how employers schedule many of their lower-wage workers.  The bill would give workers in all industries the right to request a flexible, predictable, or stable schedule without fear of retaliation.  

Take for example workers in the retail and restaurant industry.  Employers of these workers would be required to provide two weeks' advance notice of schedules and compensate employees who are sent home before the end of their shifts, work a split shift, or are assigned on-call shifts.  The bill also provides that employers would be required to accommodate the scheduling needs of workers who attend school or have serious illnesses, care-giving responsibilities, or more than one job, unless the employer has a bona fide business reason for not doing so.

Proponents of the bill state that workers need scheduling predictability so that arrangements can be made for child care, picking up children from school, caring for the elderly, etc. 


Additional information on the bill can be found here:  https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/5159

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