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Mayor Bill de
Blasio signed a package of bills that the city estimates will
cover some 65,000 fast food workers. A key component of the
package is a requirement that fast food restaurants schedule
their workers at least two weeks in advance or pay extra for
shift changes.
"Predictable schedules and predictable paychecks should be a
right, not a privilege," de Blasio said before signing the
legislation into law. "With these bills, we are continuing to
build a fairer and more equitable city for all New Yorkers."
The legislation also ensures that fast food workers have breaks
of at least 11 hours between shifts and are given the option of
working additional hours before their employers hire extra
workers. San Francisco and Seattle have already enacted similar
laws.
The New York State Restaurant Association said the penalties for
changing workers' shifts - ranging from $10 to $75 per change -
will raise costs and add burdensome record-keeping requirements.
"This legislation unfortunately is going to hurt these quick
service establishments, many of which are franchises and are
owned by what you would deem small business owners," said Kevin
Dugan, the group's regional director.
With several states and municipalities having increased their
minimum wages to as high as $15 an hour in recent years,
scheduling in the often unstable fast-food sector has become the
new frontier for unions and advocates for low-wage workers.
Supporters of the legislation, which include the Service
Employees International Union and several other unions, say fast
food workers frequently have shifts eliminated at the last
minute, or added at times that may conflict with other jobs or
child care needs.
Similar scheduling measures for fast food, retail or other
workers have been introduced in several states and are pending
in Connecticut, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York,
Oregon and Texas, according to the National Conference of State
Legislatures.
The New York City package, which takes effect in six months,
also would ban unpaid on-call scheduling of retail employees and
would enable fast-food workers to contribute voluntarily to
worker advocacy groups or other non-profit groups, but not
unions, through payroll deduction.
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