On July 1, 2022, the phase-in provisions of the Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance (“CFWO” or the “Ordinance”) will require covered employers to provide covered employees with 14 day’s advance notice of their work schedules. The CFWO, which went into effect in 2020, currently requires only 10 day’s advance notice.

Under the CFWO, covered employees may not be forced to work any scheduled hours for which they did not receive at least 14 days’ advance notice. If a covered employee accepts work scheduled after the 14-day deadline, the employee is entitled to 1 hour of “predictability pay” for each shift that has been changed. Changes to a scheduled work shift that require predictability pay include when hours are added or canceled to a shift and when the date and time for work has changed even though the number of hours has not changed.

Covered employees are also entitled to receive 50% of their regular rate of pay for any scheduled work hours that are cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice. If the entire shift is cancelled, then the employee is entitled to 50% of the employee’s pay for the entire shift. Covered employees can also decline to work shifts that begin less than 10 hours following the end of the previous day’s shift. If the employee agrees to work the shift, the employee is entitled to be paid at 1.25 times their base rate of pay.

The CFWO also requires employers to post a notice of employee rights in a conspicuous place at each facility located in the city of Chicago where any covered employee works.  Notice of these policies must also be provided with a new employee’s first paycheck.

The Ordinance defines “covered employee” as a permanent employee or a temporary employee who has been on assignment to that employer for 420 hours in an 18-month period. Covered employees must spend the majority of their time at work for his or her employer while physically present within the City of Chicago. A covered employee must also earn less than $50,000 per year as a salaried employee, or less than $26 per hour as an hourly employee.

A covered employer under the CFWO, is an employer who employs at least 100 or more employees amongst all of its locations, both inside and outside Chicago (this number is 250 for not-for-profit corporations) and who employs at least 50 covered employees who spend a majority of their time working within city limits. The type of employers who are covered under the CFWO must also are those whose employees perform work in the following industries: building services, healthcare, hotels, manufacturing, restaurants, retail, and warehouse services.

If you have any questions about the CFWO, or any other employment law matters, please contact our employment lawyers:

Kerry E. Saltzman (saltzman@wbs-law.com) or Patrick M. Spellman (spellman@wbs-law.com)