Since 2020, Philadelphia’s Fair Workweek law has required larger employers in the retail, service, and hospitality sectors to provide predictable work schedules to low-wage employees. Its requirements include advance notice of schedules, compensation for schedule changes, and a right to rest between shifts. The law has been used to bring claims against employers who violated it, and two cases are now on appeal at the Commonwealth Court.
On behalf of the National Women’s Law Center, UNITE HERE Local 274, Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO, and Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, the Public Interest Law Center and the National Women’s Law Center submitted an amicus brief to present the court with evidence about the importance of and need for such a law.
Higher-paid workers can smooth over scheduling shocks by paying for childcare, buying a car to avoid unreliable public transportation, or relying on savings when income dips. But workers who live paycheck to paycheck cannot as easily absorb a surprise late shift, a cancelled shift, or an unexpected lower paycheck. Unstable scheduling is widespread in low-paid service-sector jobs, disproportionately held by women, who also often shoulder most of the domestic burden.
