Reminder: Get Ready for Los Angeles County’s Fair Work Week Ordinance Effective Date: July 1, 2025
Topics: New Laws & Legislation, Wage & Hour Issues
As we previously blogged, effective July 1, 2025, Los Angeles County’s new Fair Work Week Ordinance requires qualifying retailers and grocers (300+ employees nationwide in unincorporated LA County) to give workers predictable schedules, advance notice, rest between shifts, and “predictability pay” for certain schedule changes. It also mandates recordkeeping, posting notices, and limits on hiring new staff before offering existing employees extra hours.
Here’s a quick refresher on the key requirements:
1. Good Faith Estimate of Work Schedule
- Provide every new hire—and any current employee within 10 calendar days of request—a written, non binding estimate of expected hours, days, locations, and potential shifts.
- If actual schedules deviate substantially (≥20% of hours, different days, location, or shifts outside the estimate in six of 12 weeks), document a legitimate business reason that is unknown at the time of estimate to substantiate the deviation.
2. Advance Notice of Schedules
- Publish each two week schedule at least 14 calendar days before it begins.
- Any employer initiated change after that notice must be made in writing.
- Employees may decline added hours or shifts not in the original schedule; if they accept a late change, the acceptance must be in writing.
3. Right to Request Hours, Times & Locations
- Solicit each covered employee’s preferred work hours, times, or locations.
- Respond in writing to every request, granting or denying with an explanation.
4. Access to Additional Hours Before Hiring
- Post open shifts 72 hours before hiring; qualified current employees have 48 hours to accept.
- Only if no qualified employees volunteer may you hire outside.
- Offers under this rule do not trigger predictability pay if those additional hours result in a schedule change.
5. Premium (“Predictability”) Pay for Schedule Changes (Subject to Exemptions)
- Employers must pay one hour of pay at the regular rate of pay (“RROP”) for each schedule change that represents: (1) an increase in work hours that is greater than 15 minutes; (2) a change to the location; (3) a change to the scheduled start time; or (4) a change to the scheduled work day. The pay requirements compound if there are multiple changes to the schedule.
- LA County has not published formal guidance regarding the ordinance, but will most likely follow LA City’s Fair Work Week Ordinance, which states that a change to the date, time, or location entitles the employee to predictability pay of one hour at the RROP for each change. This means that, if the employer changes the date, the time, and the location of the shift, the employer would owe 3 additional hours at the RROP. If that new shift is also over 15 minutes longer than the original shift, that would require an additional hour of pay. If that new shift is over 15 minutes shorter than the original shift, that would require the 3 additional hours of pay at the RROP, plus payment for the lost time at ½ the RROP.
6. Rest Time Between Shifts
- Provide at least 10 hours between shifts—or, with written employee consent, pay time and a half for each hour in the gap.
7. Mandatory Notice Posting
- Display the County’s official Fair Work Week notice in a visible area (break room, bulletin board) or distribute electronically.
8. Recordkeeping
- Retain all schedules, estimates, requests, notices, and related records for three years.
9. Manager Training
- Train managers to finalize and post schedules on time and obtain written consents.
Next Steps
- Conduct an Immediate Audit of your scheduling, posting, and record retention processes.
- Roll Out Updated Policies and provide targeted training for managers, HR, and payroll teams.
By proactively implementing these measures, your organization will mitigate risk and avoid costly penalties.
