Lauren Weber reports in the Wall Street Journal:
On-call systems leave “too little time to make arrangements for family needs, let alone to find an alternative source of income to compensate for the lost pay” on days they aren’t work(ing). Software used by many retailers forecasts staffing based on real-time sales and traffic.
The office of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sent letters warning Target Corp. , Gap Inc. and 11 others that it believes the chains are using on-call scheduling and that such practices may violate a New York law.
On-call scheduling systems have made big retailers more nimble, allowing them to staff stores during busy times and save on payroll during slow days. The software used by many retailers forecasts staffing needs based on real-time sales and traffic information. Some employers require on-call workers to check in by phone, email or text shortly before their shift, Mr. Schneiderman’s office said.
If the store is expected to be busy, they must come in; if things are slow, they are told not to report for work, and aren’t paid. These systems have been criticized by worker advocates, who say on-call scheduling makes workers’ lives and pay unpredictable.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sent letters warning 13 retailers that it believes the chains are using on-call scheduling and that such practices may violate a New York law. Photo: Andrew Burton/Getty ImagesThe attorney general’s letter, which was sent Friday, alleges that on-call systems leave “too little time to make arrangements for family needs, let alone to find an alternative source of income to compensate for the lost pay” on days they aren’t summoned to work.
Employers in New York are subject to a rule stating that staffers who report to work for a scheduled shift are entitled to at least four hours of pay at minimum wage, even if they are sent home.
In addition to Target and Gap, the retailers that received the letters are Abercrombie & Fitch Co. ; Ann Inc. ; Burlington Stores Inc.; Crocs Inc. ; J.C. Penney Co. ; J. Crew Group Inc.; L Brands Inc. ; Sears Holdings Corp. ; TJX Cos.; Urban Outfitters Inc. ; and Williams-Sonoma Inc.
Target said it posts worker schedules 10 days before the start of a work week, which employees can check remotely. A spokeswoman said its scheduling methods don’t include “on-call” shifts where employees would be required to call in to see if they are working a given day.
“Gap Inc. is committed to establishing sustainable scheduling practices,” a spokeswoman said. The retailer is engaged in a research project with the University of California, Hastings College of Worklife Law to examine workplace scheduling and productivity, and expects to receive some data in the fall of 2015. “In the meantime, each of our brands also has been working to evaluate and refine their practices to make improvements,” the spokeswoman said.
A Burlington spokeswoman said, “We work hard to ensure our scheduling practices are fair for all of our employees.” The other companies who received the letter either couldn’t be reached for comment or had no comment.
A number of other states have rules similar to New York’s, but lawmakers elsewhere don’t appear to have taken action, said Tsedeye Gebreselassie, senior staff attorney at the National Employment Law Project, a research and advocacy organization focused on low-wage work.
On-call regulations are rarely enforced because workers often aren’t aware of them. Also, in an era when employers can contact workers on very short notice through email or text messages, the rules seem out of date, Ms. Gebreselassie said.
An employee “could be headed to work and get a text message from the boss saying, ‘I don’t need you to come in,’ and that worker has arranged for child care or changed a class schedule,” said Ms. Gebreselassie. “There are real gaps in the rules for dealing with that.”
Mr. Schneiderman is asking the retailers to provide information about how they schedule employees, including whether they use software from vendors such as Kronos and Workplace Systems to schedule labor hours, or penalize employees who don’t follow on-call procedures. He is also seeking any analysis the firms have conducted about the impact of the scheduling policies on workers’ well-being. They were told to submit the materials by May 4.
While Mr. Schneiderman’s office is only gathering information at the moment, the requests could be a prelude to a lawsuit filed under the New York law requiring that workers be paid if they are sent home from a scheduled shift.
Mr. Schneiderman’s latest action continues a pattern established when Eliot Spitzer was New York’s chief prosecutor, from 1999 to 2006. Mr. Spitzer was known for publicly shaming targets during the investigation phase rather than completing his inquiries, issuing indictments and then publicizing the alleged misdeeds.
Schedule instability has emerged as a public policy issue in recent months, highlighted in hourly workers’ campaigns for higher wages. A report last year by researchers at the University of Chicago examined the prevalence of unpredictable schedules among young adults, and found that 41% receive their schedules a week or less in advance, and half have no input into the timing of their hours.
Labor and advocacy groups, including the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union and NELP, on Monday joined together to call for greater transparency from retailers about their scheduling practices. They called the attorney general’s investigation “the largest inquiry ever into the scheduling practices of the retail sector—historic in both scope and depth.”
