SB 850: WORK HOURS: SCHEDULING - OPPOSE

The West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce must respectfully OPPOSE SB 850 because it will eliminate flexibility in the workplace for both employers and employees, deny employees the opportunity to work additional hours if desired, limit employers’ ability to accommodate customer demands, and subject employers to unnecessary layers of penalties, investigative actions and costly litigation.
 
SB 850 requires employers to provide “modification pay” for changes made to an employee’s schedule with fewer than 7-days’ notice.  Although SB 850 provides several exemptions as to when “modification pay” applies, employers will nevertheless be wary to make any changes to an employee’s schedule in order to avoid the potential of having to pay “modification pay.” 
 
SB 850 applies to any restaurant, grocery store or retail store establishment, regardless of size.  The scope of this bill is daunting and the likely burden it will impose is overwhelming.  Even the San Francisco Ordinance that applies to larger employers, who have more sophisticated scheduling software and technology, has created significant challenges regarding advance scheduling and accommodating schedule changes.  A small employer with limited resources will not be able to manage the 21-day “work schedule” that must be given to employees at least 7 days in advance of their first shift, or the nuances with regard to when “modification pay” applies. 
 
SB 850 requires all employers who sell food or merchandise to basically provide a 28-day notice of an employee’s schedule.  Specifically, SB 850 requires a 21-day work schedule that must be given to an employee no fewer than 7 days in advance before the first shift.  First, this mandate fails to take into consideration the varying business models for employers who sell food or merchandise.  While some may have predictability in their business cycle and, therefore, can provide such extensive notice, others simply cannot predict their staffing needs so far in advance. 
 
For these reasons, we respectfully OPPOSE SB 850.
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Ted Green, the President of Green Public Affairs & Campaigns, is the Legislative Consultant for the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.  A Southern California native, Green has directed effective public affairs efforts for local and national private-sector clients and has led over 25 statewide ballot measure campaigns with a remarkable 96% success rate.