Labor Activists Applaud First Statewide ‘Fair Scheduling’ Law
- Oregon law requires workers to get schedule with ample notice
- Local strategy takes cue from minimum wage-hike campaigns
A server picks up an order for delivery to a table at a Cheesecake Factory Inc. restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S., on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013. Last month The Cheesecake Factory Inc. reported total revenues of $469.7 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2013 as compared to $453.8 million in the prior year third quarter.
Photographer: Luke Sharrett/BloombergStarting next summer, companies in Oregon will have to give workers at least seven days’ notice about when they’ll have to work, according to legislation signed Tuesday by Governor Kate Brown. A handful of major cities have passed “fair scheduling” laws, but Oregon is the first state to do so and the biggest victory on the issue so far for labor activists.
For organizers, giving employees advance notice of their schedules is part of a broader effort to improve the quality of shift work and low-wage jobs, along with campaigns to raise the minimum wage or to grant workers to paid sick days. Oregon’s law also guarantees workers extra pay if their schedules get changed on short notice or if they’re scheduled to work two shifts with less than 10 hours in between.