On Tuesday, November 25, 2014, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors unanimously passed the “Retail Workers Bill of Rights,” a package of ordinances that will significantly dictate wage and hour practices in certain retail establishments in San Francisco. The Supervisors had preliminarily approved the legislation on November 18, 2014, and the ordinances now are expected to be signed into law by Mayor Ed Lee in the next few weeks. The legislation will become effective 180 days after Mayoral approval.
The new ordinances create obligations for Formula Retail employers regarding scheduling, hiring, retention, and compensation to employees. Under the ordinances, “Formula Retail” employers include businesses located in San Francisco that have at least 20 retail establishments worldwide and that also have 20 or more employees in San Francisco.
Requirements for “Formula Retail” Employers include:
- Employers must provide all employees with at least two weeks’ advance notice of their schedules.
- Employers will be required to provide part-time employees with the same hourly wages as those provided to starting equivalent full-time employees. Part-time employees must also be afforded the same access to paid and unpaid time off as their full-time counterparts and must be provided with the same eligibility for promotions.
- Employers will be required to retain work schedules and payroll records for a period of three years.
- Employers must offer additional hours to existing part-time employees before hiring any new employees until all part-time employees are brought up to 35 hours per week or until they refuse the offer of additional hours.
- Upon a change in ownership, significant retention requirements, detailed in the ordinance, are imposed on the new owners for at least the first 90 days.
- A notice of employees’ new rights must be conspicuously posted at the jobsite.
The ordinances provide for strict potential penalties and remedies for noncompliance with the above and other requirements of the ordinances.
– Keesal, Young & Logan Employment Group
This information has been prepared by Keesal, Young & Logan for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship between you and Keesal, Young & Logan. You should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel.