Fair workweek laws have had a transformative effect on the daily work experience for some sections of the workforce, but the work isn’t done. These labor laws have played a central role in improving the work scheduling experience for many workers who were previously subjected to uncertainty and strain in their hunt for stability at work, but there is still some room to make improvements in how these regulations are enforced within workplaces.
Laws regulating predictive scheduling offer the workforce some foresight into their workweeks well in advance, allowing them to plan ahead and often even juggle multiple jobs with greater ease. While these regulations have not been built into law across the country, instances of such policies in regions like Seattle, Oregon, Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York City certainly offer us insight into the implications of such labor laws.
A new study into the impact of Fair Workweek laws shows that these policies are improving job quality, but better enforcement could heighten their impact. (Image: Freepik)
How Do Fair Workweek Laws Benefit the Workforce? Exploring Insights from the Experts
Fair Workweek laws refer to labor regulations that help employees receive advanced notice of their upcoming schedules, so they can set a more predictable routine in place rather than struggling with erratic schedules and last-minute calls into the workplace. Such labor regulations are not essential in workplaces where employees work a steady 9-to-5 for five or six days a week, as their presence on the clock is largely predetermined.
They largely benefit the workforce in organizations with shift-based schedules and fluctuating staffing requirements. Hey are especially important in the service industry, where employees are paid hourly wages and hence depend on the schedule to track both their time and income. These service jobs have their advantages, offering workers temporary or part-time work opportunities and the flexibility they might need in their employment.
This, however, often comes at the cost of stability, leaving workers to work back-to-back shifts depending on the abrupt needs of the organization. Last-minute openings in shifts are not uncommon even today, but when it becomes the regular mode of operation, workers are forced to work under greater pressure.
Exploring the Current Impact of Fair Workweek Laws
A new study titled Fair Workweek Laws in the U.S.: An Appraisal of Intended and Unintended Consequences was recently published in Science Advances. It conducted a careful investigation into the impact of Fair Workweek laws that have been enacted in the U.S. The data from the study shows that since their introduction, these laws have helped with a 13 percentage point increase in scheduling predictability for workers in the service sector, where they received their schedules at least two weeks in advance. This represents a 29% improvement over the baseline.
This foresight not only assists employees in determining their upcoming shifts, but has also helped with better managing the kind of work they have been assigned. The data shows that there has been an eight percentage point drop in workers being assigned closing and opening shifts back-to-back, which is roughly a 19% improvement over the baseline. The laws have also cut the last-minute timing change by 6 percentage points.
The impact of these Fair Workweek laws can differ from location to location, with New York City seeing a greater increase in advanced two-week scheduling notices than Philadelphia. These differences are natural based on the manner of enforcement and regulation, but what is important is that there are positive results to be seen across regions.
Predictive Scheduling Laws Can Transform the Worker Experience
Before the implementation of Fair Workweek regulations, many suspected that the downsides could outweigh the benefits of the policy changes considerably, but this does not appear to be the case. As the study finds, other benefits have not been erased or reduced as a result of these changes. Fair scheduling laws have had no adverse impact on paid sick leave, employer-sponsored health and dental insurance, or paid vacation benefits. Instead, the study suggests that there has been a modest increase in health insurance coverage.
“Fair Workweek laws are doing what they promised: giving service-sector workers more predictable schedules and more rest between shifts, without cutting their pay or benefits,” Daniel Schneider, the Malcolm Wiener Professor of Social Policy at Harvard Kennedy School and co-director of the Shift Project, said in a statement. “Our findings show that when these laws are paired with strong local enforcement, they can be a powerful model for improving job quality and financial stability for millions of workers across the country.”
Good Laws Can Always Be Made Better
While the impact of the Fair Workweek laws has been largely positive, there is always room to better expand on job protections that work more effectively and bring great clarity to employers and employees. Chicago’s predictive scheduling laws, which were first set in place in 2020, have now been updated this May to add greater clarity to the wording of the policy and how it can be interpreted and employed.
Building on the benefits and correcting the limitations of these laws can ensure that they can be better implemented and enforced. Changes to federal regulations could better support the workforce, but as that is unlikely, it remains up to the states to conduct their own investigations into establishing the best labor protections possible for the coming years.
As these regulations take shape, employers can also benefit from taking on individual responsibility of managing operations internally to ensure that the purpose of these regualtiosn are well-met. Clarity on schedules doesn’t just benefit employees but also offers employers the room to plan their own operations more carefully without the stress of last-minute decision-making every day. What benefits one has the potential to benefit all.
Subscribe to The HR Digest for more insights on workplace trends, layoffs, and what to expect with the advent of AI.
