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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the State’s Department of Labor advanced a new employee scheduling regulation. On Friday, Gov. Cuomo said the new employee scheduling regulation will “increase fairness for workers. It will also allow employers to maintain flexibility. In addition, the governor noted that New York achieved a leading position in promoting worker’s rights. According to him, “We will continue to protect all hard-working New Yorkers.” Gov. Cuomo’s administration said the Labor Department’s new regulation focuses on the common scheduling practices. These include the “just in time, call-in, or on-call” practices that allows employers to suddenly cancel or schedule worker’s shifts. Because of these scheduling practices, employees often end up scrambling to find child care. Sometimes, the situation forces them to miss appointments, classes, or important family commitments. These scheduling practices affect workers in the retail and other service industries. In September, Gov. Cuomo instructed the State Dept. of Labor and its Commissioner Roberta Reardon to hold public hearing on employee scheduling. After four hearings, the department obtained significant testimonies from advocates, business owners, industry experts and workers regarding the issue. Based on their testimonies, the department developed a new employee scheduling regulation to protect the most vulnerable low-wage workers. At the same time, employers will continue to have flexibility to operate their businesses successfully.

Highlights of the new employee scheduling regulation

On November 22, the new employee scheduling regulation will be published in the State Register. It will be subject to a 45-day comment period. Under the regulation, workers will receive a standard14-day advance notice for scheduling. They will receive 2 hours extra pay for last-minute assignment. The existing reporting pay will be expanded to at least four hours. It will include last-minute cancellations, assignments, and on-call shifts requiring employees to be on-stand-by to come to work. For employers, the regulation offers flexibility by allowing them to offer new shifts without a premium during the first two weeks of worker’s employment. It also allows worker shift swaps and substitutions without penalty. It permits weather related cancellations without penalty with 24-hour notice. Additionally, the regulation does not impose blanket prohibitions or mandates. Employers will retain control over their scheduling practices. Those who will provide predictable scheduling will not have additional compliance costs.

Fair scheduling practices

In a statement, New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Reardon said they put forward a regulation that offers fair and balance scheduling for workers and employers.