Federal Scheduling Bill Introduced. Sen.
Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) plan to
reintroduce "fair scheduling" legislation. A prior
version of the bill, the Schedules That Work Act (H.R. 2942, 115th Congress) would have required
employers to, upon employee request, engage in an interactive
process with respect to on-call time, location of work, timing of
notification of work assignments, and fluctuations in schedule. If
the change is requested for a serious health condition, caregiver
responsibilities, career-related education, or a second job (for
part-time employees), the employer must grant the request absent a
"bona fide business reason," as defined in the bill. The
bill also would have required reporting time pay, a penalty for
split shift scheduling, and advance notice of
scheduling/rescheduling; these provisions would be limited to
workers in the retail, food service, and cleaning industries.
California's Parade of Horribles Continues.
Our California policy team has prepared a
comprehensive analysis of the results of the first year of
California's 2019-20 Legislative Session. Kristina Launey and
Elizabeth Levy discuss the newly-enacted laws with which Golden
State employers must contend, as well as preview some of the
unsuccessful "zombie" bills – those that may come
back next year.
New York City Extends Human Rights Law to Independent
Contractors and Freelancers. Not to be outdone, New York
City has passed a provision that would provide protection under the
Human Rights Law to independent contractors and freelancers. The
law is effective January 11, 2020. For more, see Seyfarth's
Client Alert.
House Ed and Labor Committee Plans a Busy Week.
Next week, subcommittees of the House Committee on Education &
Labor will hold two hearings. The first, to be held on October 22, is titled
"Long Over Due: Exploring the Pregnant Workers' Fairness
Act (H.R. 2694)." That bill would create a new requirement to require
reasonable accommodations for "known limitations" arising
from pregnancy, even where the employee cannot perform the
"essential functions" of the job, among other issues. The
second, a joint hearing of the HELP and
Workforce Protections subcommittees, is scheduled for October 23
and is titled "The Future of Work: Preserving Worker
Protections in the Modern Economy."
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