Worker Scheduling Laws Set to Expand Amid Pandemic Balancing Act

On paper, employee scheduling ordinances look like they’d be a compliance nightmare for the restaurants, retailers, and hotels that are simultaneously navigating the vagaries of operating during a pandemic and, at times, being limited to partial operations on short notice.

In practice, though, authorities have taken a light touch on enforcement this year in at least a few cities. That could change as new provisions of Chicago’s and Philadelphia’s “fair workweek” ordinances take effect.

“As it turns out, the very sectors where this was being implemented are the very sectors that have been suffering the most from the pandemic and ...