Los Angeles County, California has enacted an ordinance that will require large employers in the retail sector to follow certain scheduling practices. The ordinance takes effect July 1, 2025.
The Details
The ordinance applies only to certain employers that have covered employees who work in the unincorporated areas of the county (check the County’s page to determine whether a workplace is in unincorporated areas of the county).
Covered Employers
The ordinance applies to any employer that meets all of the following three criteria:
1. Is classified as a retail business in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) within the retail trade categories and subcategories 44 through 45; or any business whose revenues are generated primarily from the sale to end users of tangible products that are primarily for personal, household, or family purposes, including, but not limited to, appliances, clothing, electronics, groceries, and household items; and
2. Directly, indirectly, or through an agent or any other exercises control over the wages, hours, or working conditions of a covered employee; and
3. Employs 300 or more employees globally.
Counting Employees
For the purposes of determining the number of employees, the following must be included:
· Any employee over whom the retail employer directly, or through an agent or any other Person, including through the services of a contractor, temporary service, or staffing agency, exercises control over the wages, hours, or working conditions;
· Any employee of the retail employer's subsidiary, provided that the subsidiary qualifies as a retail business; and
· Any employee of any person operating a business pursuant to a franchise, provided that the franchisee's business is over 15,000 square feet and identified as a retail business (e.g. covered employees employed by franchisees meeting this definition must be counted together even if the franchisees are separately owned).
Covered Employees
The ordinance applies to any employee who:
1. In a particular workweek performs at least two hours of work within the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County for a covered employer; and
2. Qualifies as an employee entitled to payment of a minimum wage from any covered employer under the California minimum wage law; and
3. Is assigned a primary work location and duties that support retail operations, including, but not limited to, a retail store or warehouse.
Good Faith Estimate
Before hiring an employee, a covered employer must provide the prospective employee with a written good faith estimate of the employee’s work schedule.
A good faith estimate of the employee’s work schedule for purposes of the ordinance means a reasonable, fact-based prediction of the work schedule. This prediction can be based on forecasts, prior hours worked by a similarly situated retail employee, or other relevant information.
The estimate must be provided in English, Spanish, and any other language spoken by at least 10 percent of the retail employees at a retail employer workplace or job site.
The estimate must include a copy of the Notice of Retail Employee's Workweek Rights discussed below (see the Notice and Recordkeeping section).
Employers must also provide a written good faith estimate of an employee’s work schedule within ten days of an employee's request. This estimate must also be provided in English, Spanish, and any other language spoken by at least 10 percent of the retail employees at a retail employer workplace or job site.
If an employee’s actual work hours substantially deviate from the good faith estimate, an employer must have a documented, legitimate business reason, which was unknown at the time the estimate was provided, to substantiate the deviation.
For the purposes of this provision, substantially deviate means when any of the following occur in six workweeks out of twelve consecutive workweeks, and the occurrence isn’t due to documented retail employee-initiated or retail employee-approved changes:
· The number of actual hours worked differs by twenty percent (20%) or more from the expected hours in the estimate;
· The actual days of the week worked differ from the expected days of the week indicated in the estimate;
· The actual work location differs from the expected work location in the estimate; or
· At least one actual shift per week is outside of the potential shifts indicated in the estimate.
Right to Request Schedule Changes
Covered employees have the right to request a preference for certain hours, times or locations of work. An employer may accept or decline the request, provided that the employer notifies the employee in writing of the reason for any denial.
Advance Notice of Schedule
Covered employers must provide written notice of the employees’ work schedule at least 14 calendar days before the start of the work period by any one of the following:
- Post the work schedule in a conspicuous and accessible location where employee notices are customarily posted and visible to all employees; or
- Transmit the work schedule by electronic means or another manner reasonably calculated to provide actual notice to each employee.
This notice must also be provided in English, Spanish, and any other language spoken by at least 10 percent of the retail employees at a retail employer workplace or job site.
Changes to the Work Schedule
Covered employers must provide written notice of any employer-initiated changes to the work schedule that occur after the advance notice required. An employee has a right to decline any hours, shifts or work location changes not included in the work schedule. If an employee voluntarily consents to work hours or shift changes not included in the work schedule, the consent must be documented. The record of the employee's consent must show that the employer obtained it in advance of the change. General or ongoing consent is insufficient to meet this requirement.
Template Notices
On or before July 1 of each year, the county will make available templates for employers to provide the good faith estimate of the employee’s work schedule and forms to notify employees of schedule changes.
Safety Concerns Related to Posting or Transmitting the Work Schedule to Other Employees
An employee who substantiates an ongoing concern for their or their family's personal safety, has a right to request that their work schedule not be posted or transmitted to other employees. A request not to post or transmit to other employees may be submitted in writing or verbally. The employer must immediately implement the request, except a work schedule may be shared with any employee with a good faith business purpose for accessing a work schedule, such as an employee whose responsibilities include managing employee shifts. A Retail Employer must implement a request from an employee not to post or transmit their schedule until the employee withdraws their request verbally or in writing.
Right to Additional Hours
Before hiring a new employee or using a contractor, temporary service or staffing agency to perform work, the employer must first offer the work to current employees if:
- One or more of the current employees is qualified to do the work as reasonably determined by the employer; and
- The additional work hours would not result in the payment of a premium (e.g. overtime) rate under state law.
An employer must make the offer to each current employee either in writing or by posting the offer in a conspicuous location in the workplace where notices to employees are customarily posted. The offer must be provided in English, Spanish, and any other language spoken by at least 10 percent of the retail employees at a retail employer workplace or job site.
The offer must be made at least 72-hours prior to hiring any new employee, using a contractor, temporary service or staffing agency. Upon receipt of the offer, an employee has 48-hours to accept the offer of additional hours in writing.
Upon receipt of the offer, an employee must have 48- hours to accept the offer of additional hours in writing. Upon the expiration of the 48-hour period, the employer may hire new employees or retain the services of a contractor, temporary service, or staffing agency to work any additional hours not accepted for work by current employees.
At any time during the 72- hour period, if employer receives written confirmation from all its employees that they are not interested in accepting additional hours of work, the employer may immediately proceed with hiring new employees or retain a contractor, temporary service, or staffing agency. If more current employees accept the offer to work than hours are available, the employer must award the hours using a fair and equitable distribution method.
An employee who accepts additional hours pursuant to this provision isn’t entitled to predictability pay (see below) for those additional hours, if it results in a schedule change from the work schedule.
Predictability Pay
When an employee has agreed to a change in their work schedule after the advance notice period, the employer must compensate the employee with one additional hour of pay at their regular rate for each change to a scheduled date, time or location that:
- Doesn’t result in a loss of time to the employee; or
- Does result in additional work time that exceeds 15 minutes.
An employer must compensate an employee at one-half of their regular rate of pay for the time the employee doesn’t work for the following reasons if occurring after the advanced notice required:
· Subtracting hours from a shift before or after the employee reports for duty;
· Changing the start or end time of a shift resulting in a loss of more than 15 minutes;
· Changing the date of a shift;
· Cancelling a shift; or
· Scheduling the retail employee for an on-call shift for which the employee isn’t called in.
Predictability pay isn’t required if:
- An employee initiates the requested work schedule change.
- An employee accepts a schedule change initiated by an employer due to an absence of another scheduled employee. Note that the employer must communicate to the employee that acceptance of the hours is voluntary and the employee has a right to decline and must document the specific nature of the request and the employee’s consent.
- An employee accepts an offer of additional hours as stated above.
- An employee’s hours are reduced due to the employee’s violation of any existing law or of the employer’s lawful policies and procedures.
- The employer’s operations are compromised pursuant to law.
- Extra hours worked require the payment of an overtime premium under California Labor Code Section 510.
Coverage for Missing Work Shift
An employer may not require an employee to find coverage for a shift or partial shift if the employee is unable to work for reasons protected by law
Rest Between Shifts
Employers are prohibited from scheduling an employee to work a shift that starts less than ten hours from the employee’s last shift without the employee’s written consent. An employer must pay a premium of time and a half for each shift not separated by at least ten hours.
Notice and Recordkeeping
Covered employers must post a notice published each year by the county, informing employees of their rights under the ordinance. This notice is known as the “Notice of Retail Employee's Workweek Rights in order for Retail Employers to comply with Section 8.102.120”. The notice must be posted by covered employers in English, Spanish, and any other language spoken by at least 10 percent of the retail employees at a retail employer workplace or job site. For retail employees without regular access to the workplace or job site, the employer must provide a copy of the notice by electronic communication or U.S. mail annually.
Covered employers must also retain all records required by the ordinance in a printable electronic format, for both current and former employees, for a period of three years. These records include:
- Work schedules for all covered employees;
- Copies of written offers to employees for additional work hours and written responses from employees;
- Written correspondence between the employer and employee regarding work schedule changes including, but not limited to, requests, approvals and denials, and requests not to post or transmit work schedules to other employees
- Good faith estimates of hours provided to new and existing employees; and
- Payroll records pertaining to each covered employee that document the:
- Name, address, occupation, dates of employment;
- Rate or rates of pay, amount paid each pay period;
- The hours worked for each covered employee;
- The amount of predictability pay paid each pay period;
- The amount of premium pay paid each pay period for shifts scheduled too close together; and
- The formula by which each covered employee’s wages are calculated.
Retaliation Prohibited
Employers are prohibited from taking adverse action against any employee in retaliation for exercising rights protected under the ordinance. These rights include, but are not limited to, the right to file a complaint or inform any person about any alleged noncompliance with the ordinance; and the right to inform any person of their potential rights under the ordinance and to assist them in asserting such rights. Taking adverse action against a person within 90-days of the person's exercise of rights protected under the ordinance creates a rebuttable presumption of having done so in retaliation for the exercise of such rights.
Next Steps
If you are a covered employer:
- Review the ordinance for additional detail.
- Be on the lookout for the templates to be issued by the county.
- Ensure compliance with the requirements of the ordinance by July 1, 2025.