Predictability Pay
The Ordinance provides that employees are entitled to “Predictability Pay” as compensation for changes made by an employer to the employee’s work schedule in addition to any wages earned for work performed by the employee.
If an employee agrees to change their work schedule and that change does not reduce the total time the employee was scheduled to work or does increase the time by more than 15 minutes, the employer must pay one additional hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate of pay.
If an employee’s schedule is reduced by at least 15 minutes, employers must compensate the employee at one-half of the employee’s regular rate of pay for the time the employee does not work.
Employers are not required to provide Predictability Pay under certain circumstances, including when an employee initiates a schedule change, if an employee voluntarily agrees to cover the schedule of another employee, or if hours are reduced as a result of the employee’s violations of employer policies and procedures.
Offer Work to Current Employees First
Under the Ordinance, before hiring a new employee or using a contractor, employers must first offer work to current employees if they are qualified to do the work and the work does not result in a premium rate. Employers are not subject to Predictability Pay requirements if a current employee’s schedule changes as a result of accepting the additional hours that the employer is obligated to offer them.
Recordkeeping and Retention
The Ordinance also includes recordkeeping and retention requirements. Work schedules for all employees, written offers for additional work, work schedule changes, and good-faith hours estimates, as well as any other records required by the Ordinance, must be maintained for a period of three years.
Employer Next Steps
It is imperative that employers train managers and any staff responsible for distributing schedules or supervising employee time to comply with the new scheduling requirements. Failure to provide timely notice of schedules, making significant deviations from hours estimates, contacting employees regarding last-minute schedule changes, or failure to secure written consent from employees for schedule changes are all violations of the Ordinance and in some instances could result in additional pay obligations due to the employee.
Employers should update any internal policies and provide training to managers and the human resources department on the new obligations under the Ordinance. Employers should prepare to provide schedules in accordance with the timing requirements of the new Ordinance. Policies should be implemented to ensure proper documentation and notification of any changes in schedules. Recordkeeping procedures should be updated to incorporate retention requirements. Compensation practices should adequately account for calculation of any potential predictability pay obligations. Employers should also note that retaliation as a result of an employee’s exercise of their rights under the Ordinance is prohibited.
