In a major victory for retail workers, J. Crew, Urban Outfitters, Gap, Bath & Body Works, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Victoria’s Secret have announced they are ending on-call scheduling.
On-call scheduling forces workers to be available for a shift but doesn't guarantee that they can work those hours. It's been popular in retail and fast-food employment, as well as other industries where employees are paid low wages and often work part time. The system works great for big businesses while trapping workers, keeping them from things like having a second job and going to school. On-call scheduling results in unwelcome instability for workers, who don't know their hours or their income in advance and can't plan ahead. For parents, on-call scheduling often means lost money, requiring them to arrange for childcare whether or not they'll end up getting paid that day.
The elimination of on-call scheduling in these retail stores and other affiliated brands is expected to affect 239,000 retail workers nationwide. According to The Nation, "The abandonment of on-call at these high-profile chains […] represents growing backlash against the erosion of workers’ autonomy in low-wage service sectors."
While the end of on-call scheduling is welcome news from retailers, there are still other industry practices that require reform. The Nation reports that "two-thirds of food service workers and over half of retail workers have at most a week’s notice of their schedules," and that "part-timers and black and Latino workers disproportionately work irregular schedules."
There's more below.
The basic principle that drives labor advocates is predictability in both time and earnings, which counterbalances the service industry trend toward precarious low-wage jobs, pushing workers into part-time, temporary, or unstable contract work.
The opportunity cost of abusive schedules drives financial insecurity, impedes career advancement, and hurts families. Erratic hours can interfere with childcare arrangements and medical care, and are linked to increased marital strain and long-term problems with children’s behavioral development.
A number of states, like California and New York, have introduced legislation around scheduling and hours in order to improve conditions for for workers.
Please note that Josie Duffy was previously employed by the Center for Popular Democracy. The Fair Workweek Initiative is a project of the Center for Popular Democracy and is referenced in The Nation piece quoted above.