San Francisco's Retail Workers Bill of Rights
This is the one that started it all: passed in late 2014 and officially enacted in February 2015, San Francisco's Retail Workers Bill of Rights was the first horse out of the gate in the race for equity for low-wage, hourly workers in the service industries. Before getting into the provisions, I want to just comment briefly that I don't care for the name. Bill of Rights is phrasing that many will perceive as melodramatic, and it plays right into the "entitled millennial" generational stereotype. I think it doesn't do us any favors in the realm of persuasion, especially with those who may not yet be aware of the issues but would otherwise be open to learning. That being said, the passing of this bill is truly a landmark in the journey.
On to the provisions (if you've been reading previous posts, most of these will sound familiar):
Promoting Access to Full-Time Work - Employers must offer additional hours to existing, part-time employees first, before hiring new employees or staffing through temp agencies.
Advance Notice of Schedules - Employers must post schedules a minimum of 2 weeks in advance.
Premium Pay for Schedule Changes - Employers must pay an additional hour for any changes made to an employee's schedule with less than a week's notice. Employers must pay an additional 2 to 4 hours for any schedule changes made with less than 24 hours' notice.
Equal Treatment for Part-Time Employees - Employers may not discriminate between part-time and full-time employees with respect to pay rate, promotion opportunities, or time off policies.
Opportunity to Earn Retention - When a company change of ownership occurs, existing employees must be retained for a minimum 90-day trial period.
That's the summary version. Bear in mind in reading these that I'm summarizing the ways in which worker's benefit from these laws, but there are plenty of minutiae in the bills that protect the employer as well, as far as ensuring that the laws are not abused and are used according to intent. I point that out in case some will read this and have questions like, "What if an employee wants full-time hours but isn't qualified for the work it would entail?" A lot of those hypotheticals are covered in the legislation, and I would encourage people to check out the links to read more if they're curious.
Next time, we will cover New York City, which will be the last post in this series. Also, I'm going to do some more research on San Francisco and follow up if I can. Since the laws have now been in effect for over two and a half years, I am keenly interested to learn of any benefits, consequences, or changes that might be attributable to them.
On to the provisions (if you've been reading previous posts, most of these will sound familiar):
Promoting Access to Full-Time Work - Employers must offer additional hours to existing, part-time employees first, before hiring new employees or staffing through temp agencies.
Advance Notice of Schedules - Employers must post schedules a minimum of 2 weeks in advance.
Premium Pay for Schedule Changes - Employers must pay an additional hour for any changes made to an employee's schedule with less than a week's notice. Employers must pay an additional 2 to 4 hours for any schedule changes made with less than 24 hours' notice.
Equal Treatment for Part-Time Employees - Employers may not discriminate between part-time and full-time employees with respect to pay rate, promotion opportunities, or time off policies.
Opportunity to Earn Retention - When a company change of ownership occurs, existing employees must be retained for a minimum 90-day trial period.
That's the summary version. Bear in mind in reading these that I'm summarizing the ways in which worker's benefit from these laws, but there are plenty of minutiae in the bills that protect the employer as well, as far as ensuring that the laws are not abused and are used according to intent. I point that out in case some will read this and have questions like, "What if an employee wants full-time hours but isn't qualified for the work it would entail?" A lot of those hypotheticals are covered in the legislation, and I would encourage people to check out the links to read more if they're curious.
Next time, we will cover New York City, which will be the last post in this series. Also, I'm going to do some more research on San Francisco and follow up if I can. Since the laws have now been in effect for over two and a half years, I am keenly interested to learn of any benefits, consequences, or changes that might be attributable to them.
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