“Ultimately, if you plan your staff fairly and you`re a good employer, planning law simply shouldn`t add a cost to your base,” Reiter said. While employers cannot be prosecuted, the city`s Office of Labor Standards is investigating 82 complaints of violations of the law by 49 employers, according to Isaac Richman, a spokesman for the Department of Commercial Affairs and Consumer Protection. Shortly after taking office, Lightfoot made the so-called Fair Work Week Ordinance one of its top priorities, hailing its passage in July 2019 as a major achievement that would protect workers struggling to make ends meet. “The new Fair Work Week Ordinance is a bold move to provide the reliability our working families need and deserve,” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a statement. “I understand first-hand the burden of a family`s lack of planning stability. After working with workers, businesses, industry groups and other organizations in the health, hospitality, manufacturing and retail sectors, we have come up with a series of reforms that strike the right balance between the needs of employers and workers and serve as a model for the nation to support justice and workers` rights. « Mailing ListIf you would like to be added to our mailing list for updates, announcements and communications from the Bureau of Labour Standards, please email us at bacplaborstandards@cityofchicago.org Additional ResourcesInformation on the Reprisal OrderMinimum Wage RegistrationInformation on the Paid Sick Leave OrderVaccine Anti-Retaliation Ordinance InformationOffice of Labor Standards The Law The city`s “fair work week” is a victory for employee representatives who say unpredictable schedules and uneven paychecks make it difficult to plan for child care, maintain a second job or pay bills. The Chicago Department of Commercial Affairs and Consumer Protection will administer and enforce the regulation. In addition, it will report on the economic impact of the Fair Work Week Act in the fall of 2021. From 1. As of January 2021, Chicago`s Fair Workweek Planning Ordinance allows insured workers to file private lawsuits for violating planning rules issued under the ordinance.
This regulation generally requires employers in covered industries to provide insured workers at least 10 days before their schedule, compensation for short-term schedule changes, compensation for bonuses if workers have to work less than 10 hours between shifts, and additional compensation if workers have to change their schedule on short notice. Under the Chicago Ordinance, insured employees must pursue administrative remedies with the City of Chicago`s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection before filing a private lawsuit. However, an employee can file a private lawsuit regardless of the results of the city`s investigation. A private plea under this Regulation must be filed within two years of the alleged conduct giving rise to the complaint. An insured employee who wins a civil action is entitled to compensation resulting from a violation of the Regulations, including reasonable court costs, expert fees and attorneys` fees. The employer must provide the insured employee`s records at the employee`s request. Employers must also allow authorized representatives of the Ministry of Commercial Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP), which is responsible for enforcing the regulation, to access their construction sites and relevant employment records for the purpose of monitoring compliance and investigating employee complaints. Yet too many people working in these hourly shift jobs can`t keep up with the unpredictable and fluctuating last-minute work weeks over which they have no control.
These practices have led to deep insecurity for working families, making it difficult to predict their income from week to week, to take time to go to school or to care for children. The law exempts schedule changes due to a pandemic. In its rule development, the Ministry of Commercial Affairs and Consumer Protection stated that it would consider a change “solely as `due` to the pandemic if the pandemic causes the employer to significantly change its hours of operation, operating hours or goods or services provided by the employer, resulting in a change in work schedule.” The Fair Work Week Regulations require certain employers to notify certain employees of their schedule at least ten (10) days in advance, increasing to fourteen (14) days on July 1, 2022. If an employer makes schedule changes during this period, it must give the employee one hour of “predictability wage” at the regular rate of pay. If the employer cancels or reduces the hours within 24 hours of the start of a previously scheduled shift, the employer must simultaneously pay the employees half of what they would have earned during that shift. Mayor Lori Lightfoot supported the bill, which stalled for two years under former Mayor Rahm Emanuel, calling it a necessary tool to protect Chicago workers, many of whom earn the city`s minimum wage and fear losing their jobs if they can`t take on extra shifts at the request of their managers. Illinois law expands employer coverage and reports on discrimination rulings in 2021 City officials have yet to announce when they will begin implementing this change, but drivers will receive a written warning before they have to pay $35 to correct the violation. The Regulation also provides for a private right of action in the event of an infringement. An insured employee who wins a civil action may invoke all damages suffered, including payment of the payment of foreseeability, litigation costs, reasonable expert fees and attorneys` fees. Business groups have criticized the law as an expensive mandate that would hurt companies struggling to stay afloat.
After the coronavirus pandemic forced many businesses to close in mid-March, Lightfoot agreed to revise the law, which is set to take effect on July 1, to save employers from lawsuits until Jan. 1. These planning requirements do not apply to insured employees who plan themselves or work in a location with a capacity of at least 5,000 people where events are held with tickets. With a few exceptions, insured employees can register from July 1, 2020 to July 30, 2020. June 2022 refuse to work unexpected hours that the employer adds to his schedule if he has less than 10 days (14 days, as of July 1, 2022) before a new work schedule. SummaryThe Fair Work Week Regulations require certain employers to provide employees with predictable work schedules and compensation for changes. Workers are covered by the regulation if they work in one of the seven “covered” industries (construction services, health care, hotels, manufacturing, restaurants, retail and warehousing services), earn less or as much as $26 per hour, or earn less or as much as $50,000 per year, and the employer has at least 100 employees worldwide (250 employees and 30 restaurant locations). .