Philadelphia Worker Scheduling Law Takes Effect During Pandemic

New worker scheduling requirements will hit Philadelphia restaurant, retail, and hotel employers at the same time they’re managing through shutdowns and widespread layoffs spurred by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The city’s Fair Workweek ordinance takes effect April 1, although the city plans to postpone enforcement of one provision indefinitely as a form of Covid-19 business relief. For now, employers won’t have to give extra pay—termed predictability pay—for changing workers’ schedules on short notice.

The Philadelphia law is part of a small but growing trend of cities and states requiring employers to give hourly workers more predictable schedules, with the aim of ...