Chicago Approves Predictive Scheduling Requirements

Late last month the city of Chicago approved a new predictive scheduling legislation requiring certain employers to provide lower-income workers 10 days advance notice of their work schedules.

The city's Fair Workweek Ordinance will require most businesses to give workers a 10-day advance notice of their schedules - though there are some exemptions. The mandate goes into effect July 1, 2020. Proponents say the legislation is designed to protect lower-income workers from last-minute changes to shifts. Others say predictive scheduling adds unnecessary burdens on businesses and increases costs by requiring them to pay employees for cancelled shifts.

Under the rules of the legislation, employers who violate the scheduling mandate could face fines from $300 to $500 per offense. The penalty rises to $1,000 if the employer is deemed to have discriminated or retaliated against a worker exercising rights under the ordinance.

The mandate will apply to companies with 100 or more employees. But the threshold for restaurants increases to 250 or more employees and 30 locations globally, as well as franchises with four or more locations within the city of Chicago.

Chicago is the latest city following in the footsteps of similar measures introduced in other cities in New York, California, Seattle, and Oregon.