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A00737 Summary:

BILL NOA00737
 
SAME ASSAME AS S02560
 
SPONSORRozic (MS)
 
COSPNSREpstein, Rosenthal D, Rosenthal L, Darling, Cruz, Steck, De Los Santos
 
MLTSPNSRSimon
 
Add Art 5 Title 2 §§171 - 176, Lab L
 
Requires employers of retail, food service or cleaning employees to give such employees 7 days' notice of their work schedule and a month's notice of the minimum hours of work; provides a private right of action to employees who are aggrieved by certain violations of such provisions.
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A00737 Actions:

BILL NOA00737
 
01/11/2023referred to labor
01/03/2024referred to labor
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A00737 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A737
 
SPONSOR: Rozic (MS)
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the labor law, in relation to employee work schedules   PURPOSE: This bill amends the Labor Law by adding a new Title 2 to Article 5 to create a responsibility upon certain employers to provide employees with consistent and predictable work schedules.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1 creates a new Title 2 to Article 5 of the Labor Law and includes six subsections pursuant to the new Title. Section 171 defines "employer," "employee," "retail employee," "food service employee" and "cleaning employee" for purposes of the Title. Section 172 creates advanced notice requirements whereby an employer covered by the Title must provide notice of the minimum number of hours the employee will be assigned on a monthly basis, as well as provide seven days notice to an employee as to their scheduled shift; Section 172 also includes posting requirements within covered establish- ments. Section 173 permits similarly situated employees to exchange work shifts. Section 174 sets forth prohibitions upon employers covered by the Title from interfering with the provisions of the Title and/or retaliating against employees exercising rights covered by the Title. Section 175 sets forth exceptions to the Title. Section 176 sets forth enforcement powers of the Department of Labor, as well as private causes of action by employees in relation to some provisions of the Title. Section 2 addresses severability of the Title. Section 3 sets forth the effective date.   JUSTIFICATION: This bill increases the ability of low-wage earners to plan important aspects of their lives, pertaining especially to the provision of healthcare, childcare and other essential family needs. Employers routinely construct work schedules that vary from week to week, as to the days of the week worked and total hours scheduled. Too often, work schedules provided at the last minute, result in the inability of employees to effectively manage childcare and healthcare needs, result- ing in both increased absenteeism from work and in missing important medical appointments. Some are also confronted with work schedules that set forth less hours than expected, further hampering their ability to effectively provide for themselves and their families. This bill increases workers' predictability of income by providing notice of the minimum hours an employee is expected to be scheduled during a given month. This bill also alleviates scheduling concerns by giving employees seven days notice of expected work shifts, as well as allowing covered employees to exchange shifts with similarly situated colleagues. While the Department of Labor holds the power to wage a penalty for each violation of this Title, employees are further provided with a private cause of action to enforce provisions relative to monthly expected hours statements.   LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2022: A450 (Rozic) - Labor 2021: A450 (Rozic) - Labor 2020: A315 (Rozic) - Labor 2019: A315 (Rozic) - Labor 2018: A01323 (Rozic) - Labor 2017: A01323 (Rozic) - Labor 2016: A09274 (Rozic) - Labor   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act will take effect ninety days after it becomes law.
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A00737 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                           737
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    January 11, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  ROZIC,  EPSTEIN, D. ROSENTHAL, L. ROSENTHAL,
          DARLING, CRUZ, STECK, DE LOS SANTOS -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of  A.
          SIMON -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor
 
        AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to employee work schedules
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Article 5 of the labor law is amended by adding a new title
     2  2 to read as follows:
     3                                   TITLE 2
     4                            SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS
     5  Section 171. Definitions.
     6          172. Advanced notice requirements.
     7          173. Exchange of shifts.
     8          174. Prohibited acts.
     9          175. Exceptions.
    10          176. Enforcement.
    11    § 171. Definitions. As used in this title:
    12    1. "Employer" shall mean any person,  corporation,  limited  liability
    13  company,  limited  liability  partnership  or association employing five
    14  hundred or more full-time employees nationwide or a proportional  number
    15  of  part-time  employees,  who  employs  a retail employee, food service
    16  employee or cleaning employee.
    17    2. "Employee" shall mean an individual employed as a retail  employee,
    18  food service employee or cleaning employee by an employer.
    19    3.  "Retail employee" shall mean any employee primarily engaged in the
    20  sale of items at a retail store engaged in the sale of items to  consum-
    21  ers.
    22    4.  "Food  service employee" shall mean any employee primarily engaged
    23  in the service of food or beverage to guests, patrons  or  customers  in
    24  the  hotel  or  restaurant  industry, including but not limited to, wait
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00471-01-3

        A. 737                              2
 
     1  staff, bartenders, captains and  busing  personnel;  and  who  regularly
     2  receives tips from such guests, patrons or customers.
     3    5.  "Cleaning  employee"  shall mean any employee primarily engaged in
     4  activities involving cleaning in a commercial context at a commercial or
     5  residential setting including, but  not  limited  to,  janitors,  maids,
     6  housekeeping cleaners and building cleaners.
     7    §  172. Advanced notice requirements. 1. On or before the first day of
     8  employment of a retail  employee,  food  service  employee  or  cleaning
     9  employee,  the  employer  or  its  designee shall provide notice to such
    10  employee in writing of the employee's  work  schedule  and  the  minimum
    11  number  of  hours the employee will be assigned on a monthly basis. Upon
    12  the provisions of such notice to such an employee, the employer  or  its
    13  designee  shall  obtain  from  the  employee  a signed and dated written
    14  acknowledgement, in English and in the primary language of the employee,
    15  of receipt of the notice, which the employer shall preserve and maintain
    16  for a period of six years.
    17    2. On or before the seventh day  after  the  effective  date  of  this
    18  section  and  every seven days thereafter, each employer or its designee
    19  shall provide each employee with the days that  the  employee  has  been
    20  assigned to work and the hours of work on those days in writing.  Sched-
    21  uling  notices  shall  additionally  be posted in a conspicuous place in
    22  every workplace of the employer  and  may  be  requested  by  electronic
    23  means.
    24    3.  The  provisions  of this section shall not apply during any period
    25  where regular operations of the employer are suspended as  a  result  of
    26  events beyond the employer's control.
    27    § 173. Exchange of shifts. Any employees who work for the same employ-
    28  er  in the same or substantially similar line of work may mutually agree
    29  to exchange work schedules between the two employees. For any change  of
    30  schedule as a result of this section, the employer shall not be required
    31  to  provide  any  notice  to any other employees pursuant to section one
    32  hundred seventy-two of this title.
    33    § 174. Prohibited acts. It shall be unlawful for any employer to:
    34    1. interfere with, restrain or deny the exercise  of,  or  attempt  to
    35  exercise  any  rights  provided to an employee by the provisions of this
    36  title;
    37    2. discharge, threaten to  discharge,  demote,  suspend,  reduce  work
    38  hours of or take any other adverse employment action against any employ-
    39  ee  who  exercises  or  attempts to exercise any rights provided by this
    40  title; or
    41    3. discharge or discriminate in any other manner against an individual
    42  because such individual has filed any charge, instituted any proceeding,
    43  provided any information in connection with an investigation, or  testi-
    44  fied  or  is  about  to  testify  in  any  proceeding as a result of the
    45  provisions of this title.
    46    § 175. Exceptions. Nothing in this title shall be construed as prohib-
    47  iting or conflicting with any provision of law, obligation or collective
    48  bargaining agreement that imposes increased levels  of  protections  for
    49  employees.
    50    §  176. Enforcement. 1. For each violation of this title by an employ-
    51  er, the department may assess  a  civil  penalty  not  to  exceed  fifty
    52  dollars.
    53    2.  In  addition to any penalty assessed by the department pursuant to
    54  subdivision one of this section, any employee, who is not provided  with
    55  the  notice  required by subdivision one of section one hundred seventy-
    56  two of this title on his or her first day of employment,  shall  have  a

        A. 737                              3
 
     1  private right of action against his or her employer for damages equal to
     2  fifty  dollars  for  each  work  day, after the first day of employment,
     3  during which the employee is not provided with the required  notice,  in
     4  an  amount  in  the  aggregate not to exceed five thousand dollars, plus
     5  court costs and attorney's fees.
     6    3. In addition to any penalty assessed by the department  pursuant  to
     7  subdivision  one  of this section, any employee, who during any month is
     8  not scheduled to work the minimum hours of work for the month as  stated
     9  in  the  notice provided to such employee pursuant to subdivision one of
    10  section one hundred seventy-two of this  title,  shall  have  a  private
    11  right  of  action  against  his or her employer for damages equal to the
    12  employee's hourly pay rate multiplied by the number of  hours  which  is
    13  the  result of subtracting the hours the employee actually worked during
    14  the month from such employee's stated minimum hours of work for a month,
    15  plus court costs and attorney's fees.
    16    § 2. Severability. If any clause,  sentence,  paragraph,  section,  or
    17  part  of  this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdic-
    18  tion to be invalid, this judgment shall not affect, impair,  or  invali-
    19  date  the  remainder  thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to
    20  the clause, sentence, paragraph, section, or part of this  act  directly
    21  involved  in  the  controversy  in  which  the  judgment shall have been
    22  rendered.
    23    § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
    24  have become a law.
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