Anna Haley-Lock, M.A., Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Social Work. Work Hours Insecurity & The Impact on Women and Families

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2 Anna Haley-Lock, M.A., Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Social Work Work Hours Insecurity & The Impact on Women and Families

3 What is work hour insecurity? First and foremost: Workers face lack of control over hours (changes are employer-driven, often without employee input) Mechanisms of insecurity: Not enough work hours Variable work hours Unpredictable work hours

4 How does work hour insecurity happen? Employers use just-in-time scheduling No set schedule/ last minute posting Last minute shift changes: reductions, cancellations, additions On-call workers Unexpected early send-homes All of this in a context of Little or no worker control over hours Requirement at hire for open availability

5 Employer motivations Enjoy flexibility in staffing Save money on wages: avoid slack labor Avoid triggering overtime pay requirements Avoid paying benefits to full-time employees

6 What does work hour insecurity do? Disrupts, destabilizes workers, families and communities wellbeing, making it hard: for workers to stay eligible for public assistance to attend school to get, and keep, a second job for families to arrange dependent care to budget and save to maintain family routines increases work-family and within-family conflict for communities to have engaged, present members (in religious institutions, community development/organizing, school involvement)

7 How work hour insecurity affects parents school engagement (Haley-Lock & Posey-Maddox, 2015) Study situated in mid-sized Midwestern town Responding to big emphasis in education reform initiatives on family engagement Surveys of parents with elementary-aged kids: Surveyed parents of kids at 3 summer camps & 1 public elementary school, class- and race-diverse (n=95; 22% response rate) Interviewed 17 employed mothers affiliated with 3 focal schools

8 How time demands shape school engagement: Professional workers Time-based supports they had: Schedule flexibility, paid time off (a few had volunteer days ), schedule control/autonomy Engaging was a lot easier because of my flexibility. I feel like I engage more as a full-time employed parent than other parents are able to (Ana, social worker) But trade-offs for getting, using time supports: Lower pay in exchange for reduced-hour schedule Shifted from salaried to hourly pay Increased spillover of work demands into non-work time Having to make up for use of flexibility or time off benefits

9 How time demands shape school engagement: Hourly service workers Time-off benefits unpaid, limited, hard to use a substitute for flexibility I can t leave. I have to be there five to nine (Joan, on her 2 nd /evening job as phone operator) Smallest usable unit is a full day Advance notice required (1-2 weeks), even if unpaid yet schools often don t provide this much notice of events Must find coworker to cover missed shift Single vacation day bank places family and school roles in competition: Karen, trying to save up days to simulate paid maternity leave

10 How time demands shape school engagement: Hourly service workers Unpredictable schedules + scarce hours Kristi s night shift schedule as an hourly resident assistant ranged from 40 to 60 hours, depending on what they had available Mary s restaurant server schedule was posted a few days in advance and just a guesstimate. Further, [There have] been days that I started at 11 and was done before noon. If it s slow and nobody s coming in, they cut the floor [waitstaff]. Little scheduling control I can never honestly tell you when I m going to be out of work. If we get slammed 5 minutes before we close, we still have to help everybody that s in there (Vicky, cable co. customer service rep) [S]ometimes I would go to one place for 3 hours. And then I d probably have to go to another place. I d get a break, and have to get on the bus and I d go to another place for another 3 hours or 4 hours or whatever (Jackie, home health care aide)

11 National Women s Law Center s Roundup of Scheduling Legislation

12 Overview of Scheduling Legislation 1970s-90s: some states adopt reporting time pay and split shift pay requirements. 2013: Vermont and San Francisco enact right to request laws. 2014: federal scheduling bill is introduced; San Francisco Retail Worker Bill of Rights is enacted; Michigan introduces a scheduling bill similar to the federal bill. 2015: 10 states introduce scheduling bills in their legislative sessions.

13 Reporting Time Pay Between 1972 and 1994, California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Puerto Rico all adopted reporting time pay laws. These laws guarantee between two and four hours of pay when employees are sent home without working the hours in their scheduled shifts.

14 Split Shift Pay In addition, the District of Columbia and California enacted laws requiring split shift pay. A split shift is a shift of nonconsecutive hours with a break exceeding one hour. Both laws require one hour of extra pay when employees are forced to work a split shift.

15 The Right to Request In 2013, both San Francisco and Vermont enacted right to request laws permitting certain employees to request flexible work arrangements and protecting them from retaliation. In San Francisco, the law applies only to employees with caregiving responsibilities; in Vermont it applies to all employees.

16 The Schedules That Work Act In 2014, the House and Senate introduced the Schedules that Work Act. The bill responds to workers need for a say in their work schedules, predictability, and stability and provides: A right for all employees to make scheduling requests free from retaliation, and, for employees making a request due to caregiving responsibilities, (for part-time workers) a second job, education or workforce training, or the employee s own serious health condition to receive the requested change, unless the employer has a bona fide business reason for denial. Reporting time pay, split shift pay, and two weeks advance notice for non-exempt retail, restaurant, and building cleaning employees.

17 San Francisco Enacts the Retail Workers Bill of Rights In December, 2014, San Francisco enacted the Retail Workers Bill of Rights, which applies to formula retail establishments. The ordinance requires two weeks advance notice, payment for employees scheduled to be on-call, regardless of whether they are called in, and equal treatment for part-time workers. It also requires employers to offer any additional hours to existing, qualified, part-time staff before hiring new employees.

18 Since 2014, Ten States Have Introduced Scheduling Bills In 2014, Michigan introduced a bill modeled after the federal scheduling legislation, the Schedules That Work Act. In 2015, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, and Oregon introduced bills to curb difficult scheduling practices.

19 Advance Notice Eight of the ten bills (CA, CT, IN, MD, MA, MI, MN, OR) require employers to provide hourly workers with advance notice of work schedules. These bills require between one and three weeks of advance notice. Some require additional pay for any changes that occur after the schedule is posted (CT, MD, MA, MN, OR); Michigan requires pay only for those schedule changes occurring within 24 hours of the start of a shift. CA requires additional pay for changes made within 7 days of when the employee is scheduled to work.

20 The Right to Request Seven bills (IL, MD, MA, MI, MN, NY, OR) give the employees a right to request a schedule change, and protect workers who make scheduling requests from retaliation. Four bills require employers to engage in a good faith interactive process and notify the employer of its decision (IL, MI, MN, OR). Three bills (MI, MN,OR) include a right to receive a schedule change for those employees who request a change to fulfill caregiving responsibilities, to work a second job, to pursue education and workforce training; or to address the employee s own serious health condition. Two of those bills (MI, OR) permit employers to deny the request if the employer has a bona fide business reason for the denial.

21 Limiting On-Call Shifts Seven of the bills (CA, CT, MD, MI, MN, NY, OR) require employers to pay on-call employees for a minimum number of hours, regardless of how many hours the employee actually works. The amount of pay required varies (between one and four hours).

22 Part Time Parity and Promotion of Full-Time Work Like San Francisco, Minnesota s bill prohibits employers from discriminating against part-time employees in terms of pay, eligibility for leave or time off, or eligibility for raises or promotions. Minnesota's bill also requires employers with additional hours of work available to first offer those hours to qualified, current part-time employees before hiring new employees.

23 Limits on Overwork Three bills (CT, MD, MN) protect employees from overwork. The bills permit hourly employees to refuse to work more than 6 consecutive days; more than 55 hours in a work week; or during hours that occur less than 11 hours after the end of a previous shift, or during the 11 hours immediately following the end of shift that spanned two days. If an employee works in the aforementioned conditions, the employer would be required to pay the employee at the overtime rate.

24 Hearing from the Experts Three state advocates will discuss their states bills: Charly Carter, Maryland Working Families Jenya Cassidy, California Work & Family Coalition & Andrea Paluso, Family Forward Oregon

25 Oregon Provides right to request and, for high priority categories, right to receive scheduling requests. Three weeks advance notice of work schedules; one hour of additional pay for each shift changed with less than 21 days notice but more than 24 hours notice; four hours of additional pay for changes made with less than 24 hours notice. The employer is not required to provide additional pay for employee-requested changes, or when the change results from voluntary shift trading. Limits the use of on-call shifts and split shifts. Requires employers to pay up to four hours of reporting time pay.

26 Maryland Permits employees to make scheduling requests. Provides limits on overwork. Requires at least four hours of pay for employees scheduled for callin shifts, and four hours of reporting time pay. Requires three weeks advance notice and one hour of additional pay for each shift changed after the schedule is posted. For changes made with less than 24 hours notice, the bill requires four hours of additional pay. Employers do not have to provide additional pay to an employee who requests a schedule change.

27 California Applies to large food and general retail establishment employers (those with 500 or more California employees). Requires two weeks advance notice of schedules and additional pay for schedule changes 7 days or less in advance of when the employee is scheduled to work, when those changes are not made at the request of the employee. It also requires additional pay for on-call shifts. Requires employers to allow employees to be absent from work to attend appointments at a county human services agency, so long as the employee gives reasonable notice of the planned absence from work prior to taking time off work.

28 Some Key Decision Points

29 Predictability Pay Requirements California Maryland Oregon Requires two weeks advance notice of schedules. Requires three weeks advance notice of work schedules. Requires three weeks advance notice of work schedule. No additional pay required for shifts added, changed or cancelled between 8 and 14 days in advance of when an employee is scheduled to work. One hour of additional pay for shifts added, changed or cancelled after the schedule is posted. One hour of additional pay for each shift changed with less than 3 weeks but more than 24 hours notice. 1 hour of additional pay for shifts added, changed or cancelled less than 7 days but 24 or more hours in advance. Four hours of additional pay for shifts cancelled or reduced less than 24 hours in advance, defined to include call-in shifts. Four hours of additional pay for shifts added, changed or cancelled with less than 24 hours notice. Between 2 and 4 hours of additional pay, depending on the length of the shift, for shifts added, changed or cancelled with less than 24 hours notice. Four hours of additional pay for call-in shifts. Between 2 and 4 hours of pay for callin shifts, depending on the length of the shift.

30 Exceptions to Predictability Pay Requirements California Maryland Oregon The employer is not required to provide predictability pay to an employee when: Another employee previously scheduled to work does not report to work, or is unable to work due to illness, vacation, or employerprovided paid-time off and the employer did not receive at least 7 days notice of the employee s request for time off. The reason for the schedule change is the employee s own request (including voluntary shift trades). The reason for the schedule change is the employee s own request (including voluntary shift trades and the employee s request to take time off including sick days and vacation, etc.). The change is requested by the employee, including voluntary shift trades. Operations could not begin or continue due to threats to employees or property, failure of the public utilities, or an act of God beyond the employer s control. The employee is required to work mandatory overtime.

31 Consent Requirements California Maryland Oregon No consent requirement An employee may not be required to work a shift added, changed or cancelled with less than 3 weeks notice unless the employee consents to work that shift. An employee may not be required to work a shift added, changed or cancelled with less than 3 weeks notice unless the employee consents to work that shift.

32 Provisions Designed to Increase Schedule Control California Maryland Oregon Provides employees with the right to take up to 8 hours twice each year for human services appointments, as long as they have given adequate notice of their request (to the extent possible). Provides a right to request changes in work schedules and to request limitations on an employee s availability to work. Provides a robust right to request and receive schedule changes for employees in certain high-priority categories those with caregiving responsibilities, part-time employees in need of a second job to make ends meet, those with medical conditions, and those in school. Does not provide a right to request, interactive process, or general protections from retaliation for making scheduling requests. Does not provide any employees with the right to receive a schedule change. Does not include an interactive process. Employers can only deny scheduling requests to these individuals if they have a bona fide business reason. All other individuals have the right to request (but not receive). Includes strong protections from retaliation for making scheduling requests. Requires employers to engage in a timely, good-faith interactive process for considering scheduling requests with all employees.

33 For more resources and information about fair work schedule legislation, check out: