Retail workers would receive a number of new protections and control over their schedules under a proposed ordinance unveiled Thursday by three Los Angeles City Council members and the Fair Workweek LA coalition.
“Retail workers deserve to have stability and predictability in their work lives,” City Council President Herb Wesson said at a news conference at the Los Angeles Trade-Technical College. “A retail job may not be a traditional 9-5, but these workers deserve scheduling consistency from their employers. If you don’t know when or how often you’ll be working week-to-week, it’s impossible to plan for your day-to-day life.”
The proposed ordinance would include written and posted work schedules for retail workers, two weeks’ notice of work schedules, the right to request a flexible schedule/right to decline hours without retaliation, predictability in pay, right to rest, and access to additional hours, according to the Fair Workweek LA coalition.
Similar legislation has already been adopted in states and municipalities across the country, including San Francisco, Emeryville, and Santa Clara, according to the coalition.
Last year, the UCLA Labor Center released its “Hour Crisis” report, which found that of the 147,000-plus people work who retail jobs in the city of Los Angeles, 84 percent lack a set schedule.
“What good is a minimum wage if employees are unable to work enough hours to make ends meet?,” Councilman Curren Price said. “L.A. retail workers live in economic uncertainty, making it difficult to predict their income, make time for school, or care for their families. These workers should have the right to stability, predictability and flexibility in their work schedules. It’s time the city of Los Angeles support retail employees by adopting a Fair Workweek policy.”