Predictive scheduling laws, also known as “Fair Workweek” laws, are gaining traction across the United States to protect hourly workers from erratic and last-minute shift changes. These laws typically require employers to provide employee work schedules at least two weeks in advance and offer predictability pay when changes are made without sufficient notice. The goal is to provide employees—especially those in retail, food service, and hospitality—greater stability and transparency in their work schedules.
Predictive scheduling laws have been enacted in several jurisdictions across the United States, including cities like Berkeley, Chicago, Emeryville, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle. Oregon has also enacted them statewide.
On July 1, 2025, the County of Los Angeles is set to join these jurisdictions. The Los Angeles County ordinance applies to retail employers with over 300 employees worldwide, operating in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Like its counterparts, the Los Angeles County predictive scheduling ordinance contains various requirements, including but not limited to:
Advance Scheduling
- Employers must provide employee work schedules at least 14 calendar days in advance.
- Employees have the right to decline any changes to the original schedule that would add work hours or additional shifts.
Good Faith Estimate
- Employers must provide employees with a written estimate of expected work schedules at hiring and/or within 10 calendar days of an employee’s request.
- If the employee’s actual hours, days, location, or shifts worked substantially deviate from the good faith estimate, employers must present a documented legitimate business reason unknown at the time of providing the good faith estimate.
Predictability Pay
- Employers must pay employees an additional hour of pay at their regular rate for each work schedule change that does not result in a loss of time or results in more than 15 minutes of additional work time.
- Employers must pay employees one-half of their regular rate of pay for time not worked due to employer-initiated schedule changes.
- Predictability pay is not required if: (1) an employee requests the schedule change; (2) an employee voluntarily accepts a schedule change due to another employee’s absence; (3) an employee accepts extra hours offered prior to the hiring of new employees or workers; (4) an employee’s hours are reduced due to the employee’s violation of law or of the employer’s policies; (5) the employer’s operations are “compromised pursuant to law”; or (6) extra hours worked require the payment of overtime.
Rest Between Shifts
- Employers are required to give employees at least 10 hours of rest between shifts unless the employee provides written consent to work two shifts with fewer than 10 hours of rest in between.
- If an employee consents, they are entitled to “a premium of time and a half for each shift not separated by at least ten (10) hours.”
Additional Hours Must Be Offered to Current Employees
- Employers must offer available work hours to current employees before hiring new staff.
- Employers must offer the additional work hours to each current employee either in writing or by posting an offer at the worksite.
- Employers must make the offer at least 72 hours prior to hiring any new staff.
- Upon receipt of the offer, existing employees have 48 hours to accept the offer of additional hours in writing.
- Upon the expiration of the 48 hours, the employer may hire additional staff members to work any additional hours that current employees do not accept.
- At any time during the 72-hour period, if the employer receives written confirmation that none of its current employees will accept the additional work hours, the employer may immediately hire new staff members.
Employer Takeaways
While the Los Angeles County ordinance and its counterparts aim to promote fairness and stability for workers, they may also introduce compliance challenges for employers. This is especially true for the Los Angeles ordinance as the County has yet to release FAQs and/or consolidated regulations to help employers comply with the new law. To that end, predictive scheduling laws across the board tend to be highly technical and nuanced, requiring employers to navigate a web of compliance obligations. The complexity increases for companies operating across multiple jurisdictions, many with their own versions of predictive scheduling rules – making a one-size-fits-all policy difficult to apply.
To that end, businesses must balance operational flexibility with legal obligations. Employers may consider implementing reliable scheduling software to help manage jurisdictional changes and track compliance. Although sophisticated scheduling software may be beneficial, it is crucial for companies and their legal teams to continually assess compliance with these evolving predictive scheduling laws. Accordingly, employers should train managers and human resources professionals on the various predictive scheduling legal requirements and establish clear communication channels for shift changes to help ensure that employees are aware of their rights to decline last-minute modifications. It is also crucial for employers to maintain records of schedules, changes, and communications to comply with these laws’ record-keeping requirements.
The expansion of predictive scheduling laws across jurisdictions presents both challenges and opportunities for employers. While the regulatory landscape is intricate, investing in scheduling systems, training management teams, and fostering open communication with employees can help businesses meet legal requirements as well as enhance workplace morale and operational efficiency.