The Philadelphia City Council has passed the Philadelphia Fair Workweek Employment Standards Ordinance to regulate scheduling practices for the employers in the city in the hospitality, retail, and food services industries. On December 20th, Mayor Jim Kenney signed the Ordinance which will become effective on January 1, 2020.
The Ordinance is limited to retailers, hotels, and food service establishments, including chain establishments or franchises, with at least 30 locations and 250 employees worldwide.
The Ordinance will apply to all employees who are non-exempt under either federal or state law, regardless of whether the employees are full-time, part-time, temporary, or seasonal. Employees covered under a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), are covered, although the Ordinance’s requirements may be waived through clear and explicit language in a collective bargaining agreement.
The Ordinance imposes substantial scheduling and pay requirements on covered employers, as well as provides protections for employees whose employers fail or refuse to comply with the regulations. See below for more details.
Under the Ordinance, employers cannot use outside staffing agencies or other third-party applicant pools in an effort to avoid paying predictability pay to their own employees. Employers must offer work shifts to existing employees before hiring new employees or using staffing agency employees. Employers must make this offer at least 72 hours before the applicable shift(s) and must give the work to employees who offer to work, unless doing so would result in additional overtime costs.
There are circumstances where predictability pay is not required. For example, employers need not provide predictability pay when power outages, severe weather, or transit or utility shutdowns occur; when threats to the employer’s property or personnel occur; when an employee’s schedule is altered due to changes involving a ticketed event or hotel banquet that are beyond the employer’s control; or when an employee’s hours are reduced due to termination of employment. In addition, the Ordinance includes a 20-minute grace period for changes to shift times before an employee would be entitled to predictability pay.
The Ordinance expressly prohibits retaliation and affords a rebuttable presumption of retaliation for any adverse employment action within 90 days of an employee exercising his or her protected rights, unless the adverse action was due to documented disciplinary reasons constituting just cause.
Penalties for a violation of the Ordinance may include back pay, presumed damages, liquidated damages not to exceed $2,000, attorneys’ fees, and equitable relief.
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This information is provided as a courtesy, may change and is not intended as legal or tax guidance. Employers with questions or concerns outside the scope of a Payroll Service Provider are encouraged to seek the advice of a qualified CPA, Tax Attorney or Advisor.