However, this law could also work in your favor as research shows giving hourly employees more work-life flexibility is fundamental to keeping them happier and (hopefully) more engaged. Unpaid meal breaks are not considered “hours worked.”. Minimum Wage. Washington State. Employees working in Washington for an out-of-state business with no Washington location. Employees must be allowed a paid rest period, free from duties, of at least 10 minutes for every 4 hours worked. The law requires that employees’ state Paid Family and Medical Leave and federal Family Medical Leave (FMLA) run concurrently. Employers can require workers to stay on the job site during a rest break. Senate Bill 57-17 would require employers to post schedules two weeks in advance. no mandatory clopens. Fill out this form and share your questions about general principles, specific scenarios, or anything else to help us build a crowd-sourced Q&A that helps workers understand their rights. Fill out the form, let us know your questions about secure scheduling, and we'll get them answered! Do not delay – take steps to enable all staff who are able to telework immediately. Most predictive scheduling laws around the country have been passed on a local level, which means the specific laws that apply to you depend on which state you live in. Types of employees: Adults: No special restrictions. Working Washington | 719 3rd Ave, Seattle, WA, 98104, United States, building a workers’ movement that has the power to raise wages, improve labor standards, and change the conversation about work and wealth, Resource page: Sexual harassment & assault in the workplace, let us know your questions about secure scheduling, Fill out this form and share your questions. Employers can define a workweek as any 7 consecutive days beginning on the same day and time every week. There are several state and local jurisdictions with predictive scheduling laws that could be triggered by a COVID-19 furlough, including California (Berkeley, Emeryville, and San Francisco only), Chicago, Illinois (effective July 1, 2020), Oregon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (effective April 1, 2020), and Seattle, Washington. Some state labor laws address scheduling changes that affect time off. These “mini” rest breaks must total at least 10 minutes over a 4-hour period. With only a few exceptions, an employee’s work schedule is set by their employer. Early predictive scheduling laws only applied to retail establishments and restaurants, with limited penalties and no private right of action (i.e. (2) As used in this section, "flexible-time work schedule" means a daily work schedule which contains a core time of required hours during which an employee subject to the schedule is required to be present for work and designated hours before or after the core time during which an employee, with the approval of his or her agency, may elect a time of arrival to work and departure from work. no mandatory clopens. Employees can only be required to remain on the premises or work site during their meal period if they are completely free from work duties. Our mission is to build a powerful workers’ movement that can dramatically improve wages and working conditions, and change the local and national conversation about wealth, inequality, and the value of work. The Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) has updated the employment rules that determine which workers in Washington are required by law to be paid at least minimum wage, earn overtime pay, and receive paid sick leave and other protections under the state Minimum Wage Act. ... Getting Paid. Seattle coffee, food, and retail workers organized, spoke out, and won a landmark secure scheduling law that addresses the crisis of unstable and unpredictable hours. Additional 30-minute meal periods must be given within five hours from the end of the first meal period and for each additional five hours worked. Washington law does not require overtime for hours worked over 8 hours in a day, with the exception of certain public works projects. And there is no predictability pay if you voluntarily agree to pick up a shift due to a scheduled employee not being able to work, or if you voluntarily agree to extend your shift due to unanticipated customer needs. They are called back to work, interrupting the meal period. For most employees, there are no state requirements regulating how and when they are scheduled. Employees must be provided “reasonable access” to bathrooms and toilet facilities. This includes shifts which the employer adds to your schedule with less than two weeks notice, shifts which the employer extends by one hour or more, and shifts where the start and end times are changed without changing the length of the shift. You cannot be required to work back-to-back closing and … Predictive scheduling Predictive scheduling laws protect workers from last minute scheduling changes that could negatively impact their income. Employers should attempt to schedule employees rest periods as close to the midpoint of the four (4) hours work period as possible. Right to rest, a.k.a. You have the right to request input into your schedule without retaliation. And of course your ability to access additional hours does not extend beyond 40 hours a week, and only applies if you want to work more hours. They have to make a “good faith” effort to schedule you for hours that are generally in line with this estimate; if you are scheduled for a substantially different number of hours it can be challenged. For more information, refer to WAC 357-31 for non-represented classified employees or the applicable collective bargaining agreement for union-represented employees. FEFCWA authorizes - but does not require – agencies to establish alternative work schedules. The principle behind secure scheduling is clear: workers are people. Work performed during meal breaks is considered “hours worked” when calculating paid sick leave and overtime. You cannot be required to work back-to-back closing and opening shifts that are less than 10 hours apart. If your request relates to scheduling needs involving a second job, school, serious health condition, caregiving responsibility or other “major life event”, the employer has to meet that request unless they have a “bona fide business reason” for denying it. Employers are not required to pay for a meal break if an employee is free from all duties for their entire break. Also note that Washington State law does not restrict an employer's ability to mandate overtime hours. The secure scheduling law, which takes effect July 1, 2017, ensures that people who work at large coffee, fast food, retail, and restaurant companies in the city know when they’re going to work and how many hours they’re going to get by providing several new rights. Vacation Leave Employees earn 14-25 days of paid vacation per year depending on the length of employment. Good faith estimate of your hours & input into your schedule. In order to maximize your flexibility, predictability pay does not apply if you voluntarily swap shifts with a co-worker, or if you request a change in your own schedule and your employer agrees. And we have a right to know when we're going to work and how many hours we're going to get. For example, Texas employers in the retail sector must give full-time employees – those who work at least 30 hours per week – at least one day off each week. Predictive scheduling laws have added a new wrinkle to wage and hour compliance, but as with many areas of employment law, the requirements vary between states and localities.. employers to pay employees for reporting or showing up to work if no work is performed The employer requires them to remain on-call on the premises or work site in the interest of the employer, even if they are not called back to duty. percent of all state employees across all agencies will be teleworking and at least 40 percent of all state employees will be using flexible work hours. Rest Breaks, Meal Periods & Schedules Employees have a right under Washington law to take rest breaks and meal breaks. Employees under 18 and agricultural workers have different standards than those listed on this page. Under the new law, most employees must accrue paid sick leave at a minimum rate of 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked. These changes affect employees defined as executive, administrative and professional, as … Right to rest, a.k.a. Employers cannot restrict use of bathroom or toilet facilities to rigid time schedules (e.g., only during scheduled breaks), or impose unreasonable time use restrictions. Part-time employees accrue leave based on the number of hours worked. In order to ensure such changes are truly voluntary, offers of additional hours must be made via mass communication or in-person group communication to more than one person. The Federal Employees Flexible and Compressed Work Schedules Act (FEFCWA) removes traditional scheduling requirements for government employees. Designed with the food service industry and chain franchises in mind, the Hours and Scheduling Stability Act of 2015 requires employers in the District of Columbia to provide their employees with 21 days’ advance notice of their work schedules. 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