Rules and Regulations

Frequently Asked Questions and Examples

Draft Notice to Employees

Poster (11x17) and in Spanish

Fair workweek ordinances, also known as fair or predictable scheduling ordinances, aim to give employees more predictability in their schedules to be able to accommodate everyday needs, including securing stable childcare, attending doctor appointments, holding down second jobs, pursuing higher education, or managing family and caregiving responsibilities. Evanston’s Fair Workweek ordinance requires certain employers to:

* Provide employees with 14 days’ notice of their work schedules;
* Compensate employees for changes or cancellations to their scheduled shifts that occur with less than 14 days’ notice;
* Offer additional hours to existing employees before hiring new part-time employees; and
* Provide additional pay for employees who agree to work “clopening” shifts that start less than 11 hours after the last shift ended.

The ordinance also protects employees against retaliation for exercising their rights to stable and predictable schedules.

The ordinance applies to employers in Evanston who have 100 or more employees globally, including franchises, in one of the following industries:

1. Hospitality

2. Retail

3. Warehouse Services

4. Manufacturing

5. Building Services

Employers in the Food Service and Restaurant industries must have at least 30 locations globally and at least 200 employees to be covered by the ordinance.

Where employees are entitled to “predictability pay” under the statute, the rate of predictability pay is equal to the regular hourly rate of pay for the affected employee. For example, if an employee’s regular rate of pay is $15 per hour, one hour of “predictability pay” would also be paid at $15 per hour.

Yes, employers may notify employees of changes to their schedule via electronic means, like an email or text message.

Yes. Employees of covered employers are not owed predictability pay if:

1. The employees are covered by a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that explicitly and unambiguously waives coverage by the ordinance (in its entirety, or the section providing for predictability pay).

2. There are extenuating circumstances laid out in section 3-34-5(D) of the ordinance, which includes acts of nature, utility failures, or acts of unrest.

3. The change is initiated by the employee and not the employer.

Employers have to post schedules 14 days before the first scheduled shift, not a schedule that covers 14 days. For example, an employer could post a work schedule for September 15 on September 1 and post a schedule for September 16 on September 2, etc. As long as the schedule is posted 14 days before the shift starts, the employer is in compliance with the ordinance. Nothing in the ordinance prohibits an employer from posting a schedule more than 14 days in advance.