Does Your Employer Owe You Money? Understanding Philadelphia’s Fair Workweek Law

Willig, Williams & Davidson represents thousands of employees who allege that their employer violated Philadelphia’s Fair Workweek Law.

The Fair Workweek law covers hourly workers in the service, hospitality, and retail industries, such as restaurants, coffee shops, and hotels. The law applies to all large Philadelphia employers with 30 or more locations and 250 or more employees. If you work or have worked for one of these large employers in Philadelphia, your rights may have been impacted and you may be owed compensation for violations of the Fair Workweek law and its regulations.

The Fair Workweek law provides protections against the unpredictable scheduling that is pervasive in retail, hospitality, and food service industries. Frequent last minute schedule changes, including being required to work late or being cut early, combined with employers failing to offer full-time employment when available, create significant barriers for low wage workers to climb out of and stay out of poverty.

Unpredictable scheduling causes income instability which prevents workers from taking a second job, and leaves workers unable to reliably schedule any commitments outside of work, including childcare. Additionally, multiple studies have shown that unpredictable scheduling is a stronger predictor of the health of a worker and their children than the worker’s hourly wage, as it impacts psychological distress, sleep quality, childcare, and ability to access healthcare.

To address these issues, the Fair Workweek law requires large Philadelphia retail, hospitality, and food service employers to pay extra money to employees when:

They fail to provide a written good faith estimate of a set schedule upon hiring ($200).
They fail to post a work schedule no later than 14 days before the start of any new schedule ($50 per pay period in which a violation occurs).
They change the work schedule without 14 days’ notice (1 hour of pay per incidence, even if there is no loss in work hours).
They make employees work an additional shift or hours not on the posted schedule without written consent ($100 per pay period in which a violation occurs).
They change the location of a work shift without 14 days’ notice (1 hour pay per incidence).
They send the employee home early by more than 20 minutes or cancel a shift (half pay for any scheduled hours not worked).
They send the employee home late by more than 20 minutes (1 hour of pay per incidence).
They cancel an on-call shift (half pay for any scheduled hours not worked).
They make the employee come back to work without 9 hours off in between shifts spanning two days ($40 per incidence).
They fail to provide written notice of available work hours ($50 per pay period in which a violation occurs).
They fail to provide written notice of the policy for distributing work hours ($50 per pay period in which a violation occurs).
They fail to offer additional shifts to current employees before hiring new employees ($1,000 for each pay period in which the violation occurs).

Employers also must post a notice of these requirements, maintain records that demonstrate their compliance with the Fair Workweek law, and they cannot punish or retaliate against employees who seek to exercise their rights under the law.

If your employer failed to meet these requirements, you may be entitled to the monetary damages enumerated above and an equal amount, up to $2,000 in liquidated damages.

If you believe your employer is breaking the law, keep evidence such as handwritten notes or text messages documenting conversations with your employer that show any violation you notice, and contact Ryan Allen Hancock at rhancock@wwdlaw.com or 215.656.3679. The employment lawyers at Willig, Williams & Davidson are ready to help you fight for the compensation you deserve under the Fair Workweek law.