Schedules That Work Act Mandates 14-Day Advance Notice and Premium Pay for Last-Minute Shift Changes in Retail and Hospitality

The new Schedules That Work Act aims to tackle the notorious problem of volatile work schedules that plague hourly workers, especially those in retail, food service, hospitality, and warehouse jobs. The core idea is simple: if your employer needs you to work, they need to give you a heads-up, and if they change their mind last minute, they have to pay for the inconvenience.

This bill introduces two major changes. First, it gives every employee the right to request a more flexible, predictable, or stable schedule, particularly if the request is tied to a serious health condition, caregiving duties (for a child or elderly parent), or enrollment in a career-related educational program. If your request falls into one of these categories, your employer must grant it unless they can prove a “bona fide business reason” for the denial. Second, for employees in specific sectors—the “covered sector employees”—it imposes strict rules around advance notice and compensation.

The Right to Request: Asking for Stability

Let’s start with the interactive process (Section 3). This applies to everyone working for a company with 15 or more employees. If you need a shift change because your kid’s daycare schedule changed, or you’re taking a night class to get a certification, your employer has to sit down with you and genuinely try to work it out. They can’t just toss your request in the trash. If they deny it, they have to explain why, and if it’s for one of those protected reasons (caregiving, health, education), the denial must be based on a “bona fide business reason.”

What’s a “bona fide business reason?” It’s a wide net, covering things like significant detrimental effects on business performance, inability to reorganize work among existing staff, or insufficient work during the proposed hours (Section 2). This is where the rubber meets the road. While the intent is good, the employer has a lot of wiggle room here, especially if your request isn't tied to caregiving or education. For those non-protected requests, the employer can deny it for any reason that isn't illegal.

Predictability Pay: Getting Paid for the Chaos

For those defined as “covered sector employees”—think your barista, the hotel front desk clerk, the warehouse loader, or the retail associate—the rules get much tighter (Section 4). Their employers must provide a written work schedule at least 14 days in advance. If the employer fails to post the schedule entirely, they owe the employee $75 for every day they miss the deadline.

If the employer changes the schedule with less than 14 days’ notice, they trigger “predictability pay.” This is the financial penalty for scheduling instability:

• If the employer adds hours or changes the time/location of a shift: You get your regular pay for the hours worked, plus one extra hour of pay at your regular rate.
• If the employer cancels or reduces your scheduled hours: You get half your regular rate for all the hours you lost.

Crucially, you have the right to decline, without penalty, any hours that weren’t on that 14-day posted schedule. This means if you schedule a doctor’s appointment based on your posted schedule and your manager asks you to come in early the day before, you can say no. If you say yes, it must be in writing.

The Right to Rest

One of the most impactful provisions is the Right to Rest (Section 5). This applies to all employees of covered employers (15+ employees). You can decline any shift that starts less than 11 hours after your previous shift ended. This is aimed squarely at stopping “clopening” shifts—when you close the store late one night and have to open it early the next morning.

If you agree in writing to work during that 11-hour rest period, your employer must pay you 1.5 times your regular rate for all hours worked that fall within that rest window. This creates a strong financial incentive for employers to respect the 11-hour break, making it easier for workers to get proper sleep and manage their lives outside of work.

Who Pays and Who Benefits?

This bill is a huge win for workers who rely on hourly wages but struggle with the uncertainty of their income. It means a single parent can finally arrange stable childcare, knowing their schedule won't be yanked out from under them at the last minute. It also means if a shift is canceled, they still get half-pay, buffering the financial shock.

For employers in the covered sectors, this requires a significant operational shift. They must move away from “just-in-time” scheduling—the practice of minimizing labor costs by only scheduling workers when customer traffic is highest—and invest in better forecasting. The cost of non-compliance (predictability pay and 1.5x rest pay) is designed to make stable scheduling the cheaper option. However, employers who rely on high-volume, unpredictable demand (like certain hospitality venues) will face higher labor costs or increased administrative burden to manage the new scheduling constraints.