Any business employing hourly workers should know just how important staying on top of evolving labor laws is. Specifically, the rules around scheduling are strict, and it’s important for employers to follow them closely. Fair Workweek laws were designed to provide employees with predictable work schedules. These requirements are complex, and managing them can become increasingly tedious and even lead to fines when there is human error. Are you covering all of your bases in regard to Fair Workweek laws?

Understanding Fair Workweek Laws

Fair Workweek laws, also known as predictive scheduling laws, aim to eliminate unpredictable work schedules and ensure fair labor practices. They require employers to provide employees with advance notice of their work schedules (typically 14 days), compensate them for last-minute changes, and even allow employees to decline late schedule changes. While it’s great for employees, businesses often struggle to follow these laws to a tee, since the laws can be complex and require managers to make quick adjustments.

How Legion Can Help

Recognizing the challenges businesses face, Legion WFM launched a feature to its Early Access (EA) and User Acceptance Testing (UAT) environments in February. This feature allows managers to enter reasons for schedule changes directly into the schedule, streamlining compliance efforts and allowing employees to consent to schedule changes within the advanced notice period. Here’s how it works:

1. When managers need to adjust a schedule within the legally mandated notice period, they can now specify the reason for the change at the time of the edit. This critical feature ensures that the reasoning behind any alterations is documented, maintaining transparency and accountability. Additionally, the reason is used to compute the appropriate premium amount depending on the reason itself, the type of change, and the timing of the change.
2. In addition to managerial inputs, employees have the ability to consent to changes within the advanced notice period. When a late change is made, employees will see an option to accept or decline the schedule change within their mobile app or the web console. This functionality fosters a collaborative work environment and ensures that any schedule adjustments are mutually agreed upon, further aligning with Fair Workweek principles.

By integrating this feature into workforce management practices, customers can ensure they are:

• Staying Compliant: Automatically adjusting to legislative requirements reduces the risk of non-compliance penalties.
• Promoting Fairness: Transparently managing schedule changes promotes fairness and respects employees’ time and commitments outside of work.
• Enhancing Operational Efficiency: The automated computation of premium pay saves time and resources, allowing managers to focus on core business activities.

By simplifying the management of schedule changes and ensuring accurate premium pay calculation, it helps businesses cover all bases, promoting a fair, transparent, and efficient work environment. As labor laws evolve, leveraging technology to stay ahead of compliance requirements will be key for businesses aiming to thrive in the modern workforce landscape. To learn more about how Legion WFM can help you stay ahead of compliance management, schedule a demo today.