The City Council will listen to the people Friday regarding a legislative package that would curb “on demand” hiring for retail businesses, particularly fast-food restaurants.
The six bills in the “Fair Workweek” package aim to give the city’s 65,000 hourly employees more of a say in their scheduling, according to Liz Vladeck, city deputy commissioner for the Office of Labor Policy and Standards.
“Workers are unable to plan their lives, spend time with their families or further their careers with education,” she said.
The Council’s Committee on Civil Service and Labor will hold a public hearing on the legislative package, which includes a bill that bans retail employees from coming into work with fewer than 72 hours’ notice without their written permission. Employers would have to post a written work schedule no later than 14 days before a shift begins.
Another bill would prohibit “clopenings” in fast-food restaurants, where an employee works back-to-back shifts with the first shift closing the restaurant and the second shift opening it the next day. A fast-food worker who chooses this schedule would have to seek written permission, according to Vladeck. Mayor Bill de Blasio supports this legislation.
Opponents of the package, such as the New York State Restaurants Association, argue that it would backfire on workers who need as many gigs as they can to provide for their families.
“For many employees, one of the appeals to working in the food service industry is the flexibility,” Kevin Dugan, the association’s regional director, said in a statement.
Vladeck contended that the bills would help put employees and their bosses on the same page.
“This legislation helps them be more transparent,” she said.
