The Philadelphia City Council recently passed the Fair Workweek Employment Standards Ordinance (the “Ordinance”), which will impose new restrictions on retail, fast food and hospitality employers with regard to employee scheduling and pay practices. The Ordinance was signed by Mayor Jim Kenney on December 20, 2018, and will take effect on January 1, 2020.

The Ordinance applies to employers that have 250 or more employees and 30 or more locations worldwide, regardless of where those employees perform work (including full-time, part-time, temporary and seasonal employees). Such employers will be required, among other things, to:

  • Provide newly hired employees with a written, good faith estimate of their work schedule, including the average number of hours the employee can be expected to work each week;
  • Provide employees with at least ten days’ written notice of their work schedules (which will increase to fourteen days as of January 1, 2021);
  • Notify employees of any proposed changes to their work schedules as promptly as possible and before the change takes effect; and
  • Give consideration to employee work schedule requests, including requests not to be scheduled for certain times or locations.

Employers may make changes to schedules for up to 24 hours after they are posted. Subject to certain exceptions, schedule changes made after 24 hours will trigger “predictability pay” for employees, which is measured by the employee’s hourly rate of pay and must be paid each time the employer makes a qualifying change (in addition to the employee’s regular pay for hours worked).

The Ordinance also provides a right to rest between work shifts by permitting employees to decline additional shifts, without penalty, that would begin less than nine hours after the end of a previous shift. Alternatively, employees who accept such shifts will receive an additional payment of $40 for each accepted shift.

Employees subject to a collective bargaining agreement may waive the requirements of the Ordinance provided such waiver is explicitly set forth in the agreement in “clear and unmistakable terms and only so long as the agreement is in effect contractually.” Unilateral implementation of a waiver is prohibited.

In addition to including a notice requirement and record retention requirements, the Ordinance provides employees with a private right of action for violations of the law. Available remedies include back pay, liquidated damages up to $2,000, attorney’s fees and other equitable relief.

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Photo of Arielle E. Kobetz Arielle E. Kobetz

Arielle E. Kobetz is an associate in the Labor & Employment Law Department and a member of the Employment Counseling & Training Group. Her practice focuses on providing clients with strategies and counseling related to a variety of workplace-related disputes, including employee terminations…

Arielle E. Kobetz is an associate in the Labor & Employment Law Department and a member of the Employment Counseling & Training Group. Her practice focuses on providing clients with strategies and counseling related to a variety of workplace-related disputes, including employee terminations and discipline, leave and accommodation requests, and general employee relations matters. She also counsels clients on developing, implementing and enforcing personnel policies and procedures and reviewing and revising employee handbooks under federal, state and local law.

Prior to joining Proskauer, Arielle served as a law clerk at the New York City Human Resources Administration, Employment Law Unit, where she worked on a variety of employment discrimination and internal employee disciplinary issues.

Photo of Evandro Gigante Evandro Gigante

Evandro Gigante is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and co-head of the Employment Litigation & Arbitration group and the Hiring & Terminations group. He represents and counsels clients through a variety of labor and employment matters, including allegations of…

Evandro Gigante is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and co-head of the Employment Litigation & Arbitration group and the Hiring & Terminations group. He represents and counsels clients through a variety of labor and employment matters, including allegations of race, gender, national origin, disability and religious discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge, defamation and breach of contract. Evandro also counsels employers through reductions-in-force and advises clients on restrictive covenant issues, such as confidentiality, non-compete and non-solicit agreements.

With a focus on discrimination and harassment matters, Evandro has extensive experience representing clients before federal and state courts. He has tried cases in court and before arbitrators and routinely represents clients before administrative agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, as well as state and local human rights commissions.

Photo of Tony S. Martinez Tony S. Martinez

Tony Seda Martinez is an associate in the Labor & Employment Law Department and a member of the Labor-Management Relations and Employment Litigation practice groups.

Tony advises clients on a range of labor and employment matters. As part of his employment law practice…

Tony Seda Martinez is an associate in the Labor & Employment Law Department and a member of the Labor-Management Relations and Employment Litigation practice groups.

Tony advises clients on a range of labor and employment matters. As part of his employment law practice, Tony has represented clients in lawsuits alleging breach of contract, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation before federal and state courts and administrative agencies. He also assists employers with complex investigations matters and provides day-to-day counseling on employment law matters. Tony focuses his labor practice on representing public and private employers in grievance arbitrations and collective bargaining negotiations. He counsels clients across a number of industries including financial services, health care, sports leagues, transportation, and media.

Tony earned his J.D. from Rutgers Law School in 2018 where he was a member of the Rutgers Law Review. From 2022 to 2023, Tony served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable José R. Almonte in the District of New Jersey.