Simplify compliance with
New York Fair Workweek for Fast Food Workers
- Create and provide regular schedules
- Minimize predictability pay with advance notices of shifts
- Automate key predictability pay requirements for last-minute changes to schedules
- Give your team the right amount of downtime between shifts to avoid clopening penalties
The New York Fair Workweek Law for Fast Food Workers
New York’s ordinance for fast food workers applies to nonexempt employees of fast food chains with 30 or more locations in the U.S., including separately owned franchises with more than 30 locations.
Requirements of New York City's Fair Workweek Ordinance for Fast Food Workers
The ordinance requires a regular work schedule, 14 days advance notice of the work schedule, consent and predictability pay for schedule changes, consent and premium pay for clopenings, and open shifts must be offered to discharged and existing employees before hiring new employees.
Did you know that businesses across the U.S. in cities with fair workweek laws paid more than $27 million in violations last year? That includes fines and restitutions paid by the following businesses in 2022: Chipotle, Shake Shack, McDonald’s, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, and Del Frisco’s.
We keep up to date with Fair workweek
"Our in-house employment attorneys partner with several leading employment law firms in the United States to keep up to date on the evolving fair workweek legal landscape."
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Five ways Deputy helps you stay compliant with New York Fair Workweek for Fast Food Workers
1. Regular Schedules
Provide an estimate of work days, times & locations
Before a new team member starts their first shift, provide an estimate of where, when, and how often they’ll work. Issue a digital copy via Deputy, capture employee confirmation, and create an electronic record of compliance.
2. Advanced notice of schedules
Give early notice of shifts & minimize predictability pay
Create perfect schedules well in advance and share them with your employees instantly. Plan your team’s shifts based on accurate demand forecasts, publish schedules via web or app, and minimize compensation payments for last-minute changes.
3. Compensation for changes
When late changes happen, pay the right premiums
Sometimes schedules need to change at short notice — we’ve all been there. When they do, Deputy helps you stay compliant. Our software can record schedule amendments, calculate the required predictability pay, and capture employee consent to the change.
4. Rest between shifts
Give staff enough downtime & avoid clopening penalties
Clopening is when employees work a closing and opening shift back to back without enough rest. When you build schedules in Deputy, we’ll alert you when staff are at risk of clopening, calculate the required compensation, and help you find employees who can work the shifts without penalties.
5. Access to hours
Give your current staff first pick of available shifts
When new shifts become available, employers need to give their current part-time staff the opportunity to claim those hours before they hire new team members. That’s straightforward with Deputy News feed: just post a notice for all the suitable employees and create a transparent record of compliance.
Why choose Deputy?
Deputy is at the forefront of helping American retailers, restaurants, fast food franchises, and other hospitality businesses manage fair workweek compliance. Our in-house employment attorneys and legal experts consult with government bodies, leading employment law firms, and business owners to keep our software configured to the latest regulations and employer requirements – even in cities with strict compliance regulations, such as New York, Los Angeles & Chicago. To find out how Deputy can help with Fair Workweek compliance in New York, visit our help center.
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Frequently asked questions
- What is the New York City Fair Workweek Ordinance for Fast Food Workers?
New York’s Fair Workweek Ordinance aims to give nonexempt employees in the fast food industry predictable work schedules so that they can reasonably plan their income and their lives. It also aims to provide the opportunity for part-time workers to become full-time if they wish.
Covered employees have several rights under the law including the right to a regular work schedule, the right to decline unscheduled hours, predictability pay for schedule changes, and the right to rest between shifts.
- Who is considered a covered employee by the New York Fair Workweek ordinance for fast food businesses?
All nonexempt employees of fast food restaurants who have 30 or more locations anywhere in the U.S. This includes separately owned franchises if the total number of a franchise brand’s fast food establishments is greater than 30. This includes employees who provide customer service, cooking, food preparation, off-site delivery, security, stocking, cleaning or maintenance.
- Where can I find a copy of the New York Fair Workweek Ordinance notice?
New York’s Office of Labor Policy and Standards provides the New York Fair Workweek Ordinance notice on their website.
- What kind of rest breaks between shifts are required?
Employees can decline shifts that begin less than 10 hours following the end of the previous day’s shift. If employees agree to work such a shift, they must be paid a $100 premium.
- What is predictability or premium pay in New York?
If an employer changes the work schedule after the 14-day notice period, that employer must update the posted schedule and must notify all affected workers within 24 hours. The employer must also pay predictability pay for all schedule changes within the 14-day notice period. For added time and shift changes the premium ranges from $10 - $15 per change and for reduced work time the premium ranges between $20 and $75 per change.
Insights from our compliance experts
This page only provides a summary. For more details about the specific fair workweek pay rules that Deputy helps solve, visit our help center.