Earlier this year, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted and passed the Fair Work Week Ordinance. It is now set to go into effect July 1, 2025. The ordinance applies to any retailer and grocer in unincorporated LA County with 300 or more employees nationwide and closely tracks the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Work Week Ordinance, which went into effect in April 2023.

The City of Los Angeles, and now, the County of Los Angeles, are not the only locations to pass such ordinances – other California cities like Berkeley, San Francisco, and Emeryville, as well as national cities, including Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, and Seattle have also followed suit with their own Fair Work Week Ordinances.

What Employees Are Covered

Employees who work for retail businesses in Los Angeles County that employ at least 300 employees nationwide are covered under this ordinance. Individuals that work for staffing agencies, certain subsidiaries, and franchises also count toward this number.

The ordinance defines covered “retail employees” as those who (1) work at least two hours within the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, (2) qualify for minimum wage under California law, and (3) are assigned to a primary work location and duties that support retail stores or warehouses.

Food service workers and the restaurant industry aren’t included in the ordinance at this time, but Los Angeles County has indicated that it will be looking to provide similar coverage to other industries in the future, including food service.

Compliance Requirements for Employers

In order to comply with the ordinance, employers should plan to – 

• Provide a good faith estimate of work schedules to prospective employees before hire and to current employees within 10 calendar days of a request
• Provide schedules to workers two weeks (14 calendar days) in advance, with the understanding that employees have a right to decline any hours not included in that schedule
• Hear employees’ preferred hours, times, and location requests, though employers are not obligated to grant the requests but to accept or deny them in writing
• Offer additional hours to current employees at least 3 days before hiring a new employee or contractor
• Space out employee shifts by at least 10 hours, unless the employer is prepared to obtain written consent from the employee and pay time and a half for each hour of the subsequent shift
• Post the required Notice on the workplace’s bulletin board, or similar location visible to employees
• Maintain current and former employees’ records/schedules for three years

What Happens to Changes in an Employee’s Work Schedule During the Notice Period?

Under certain circumstances, employees will be entitled to “predictability pay” if changes are made to an employee’s work schedule during the notice period. Employers will have to pay one hour of compensation at the employee’s regular rate of pay for any changes to an employee’s scheduled date, time, or location where an employee has no loss in hours or is required to work more than 15 minutes of scheduled work. 

Where an employer changes the start or end time of a scheduled shift during the notice period that results in a loss of more than 15 minutes, employers will be required to pay half of the employee’s regular rate of pay. The employer will also be required to pay this amount when time is subtracted from a shift before or after the employee reports to work, the employer changes the date of a scheduled shift or cancels it, or the employer schedules the employee for an on-call shift and the employee is not called in.

“Predictability pay” does not apply where an employee changes their schedule or accepts a shift due to another employee’s absence, where work conditions are compromised or changes are made due to violations of any law or policies, or where employees accept overtime hours.

Penalties for Non-Compliance

Violating the ordinance could subject employers to penalties ranging from $500 to $1,000 per violation. Employers could also be subject to a fine of up to $1,000 for retaliating against an employee who reports violations. 

Supporters of the ordinance contest that the ordinance allows for workers to retain more stability, control, and predictability over their schedules so they can plan for childcare and other life and family obligations. Critics worry that the policy will complicate the already challenging logistics of scheduling staff when last-minute changes are needed. Critics also advocate that the ordinance does not include a policy for honest, clerical mistakes and believe that the penalty requirements and potential for increased lawsuits will result in higher grocery and retail costs for consumers. 

This is a fairly onerous ordinance for the LA retail industry. With only a year away, now is the time for retail businesses in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County to review their scheduling and record retention practices and confirm that their payroll departments understand how to handle predictability pay.