A San Francisco proposal passed by the Board of Supervisors could implement a “Retail Workers Bill of Rights,” aimed at changing labor standards and pay practices for hourly employees. This piece of legislation would force the more than 1,200 retail stores throughout San Francisco to do the following:
- Offer all part-time employees the option to pick up additional hours before choosing to hire new workers
- Pay employees for at least four hours of work if they are on call or if their shift was canceled with less than 24 hours’ notice
- Not favor full-time workers over part-time employees in terms of promotion opportunities and payment
- Keep existing workers for at least 90 days if a new owner comes in and buys one of these stores or companies
The main goal is to offer hourly employees throughout the city more predictability with their work schedules and job security. This is just one part of a national trend aimed at providing more rights to retail and hourly employees, who increasingly are forced to deal with erratic and unpredictable schedules.
The San Francisco version of this legislation would go much farther than what other regions across the country have done. It would cover all businesses classified as “formula retail” — fast food locations, restaurants, chains of banks and hotels, and more.
For obvious reasons, retail workers everywhere are praising this potential legislation, and there is hope that it will inspire other locations around the country to draft similar legislation. With President Obama having recently told federal agencies to impose similar policies within their organization, those hopes may be quite realistic. It would seem that the national trend is starting to go in favor of hourly workers’ rights.
If you have questions about this issue and believe you may need to take legal action, contact a Dallas attorney with experience handling whistleblower cases.
