Some states – mainly those controlled by Democratic lawmakers – are now considering enacting further “employer mandates,” which are laws that spell out certain aspects of the employer-employee relationship.
These states have enacted mandates such as $15 per hour minimum wages, paid sick leave mandates, paid family and medical leave insurance programs, enhanced pay equity and sexual harassment laws, and various other employment-related legislation in recent years.
One of the newer approaches is “predictive scheduling,” which while not a new policy appears to be on the rise at the state level.
State and local government relations firm MultiState Associates is currently tracking more than 30 predictive scheduling bills in 16 states. In Colorado, lawmakers are backing the “Fair Workweek Employment Standards,” which would require employers in restaurants, food and beverage manufacturing facilities, and retail jobs with 250 employees or more to post work schedules two weeks in advance. The bill would allow employees to request changes to their schedules and requires businesses that cancel shifts at the last minute to pay employees. Any changes to an employee’s schedule would require written employee consent.
On the flip side, Republican legislators in nine states have enacted preemption laws that prohibit localities in those states from enacting their own predictive scheduling ordinances.
