Newport Chamber of Commerce Opposes "Fair Workweek" Bill

NEWPORT, RI—A bill proposing Rhode Island employers provide their workers advance notice of schedule changes and pay extra for last-minute changes is facing opposition from some segments of the business community, including local chambers of commerce.

The Newport Chamber of Commerce sent out a "legislative alert" on Friday urging members to read up on the proposed bill, H-7515, also known as the "Fair Workweek for Rhode Island" Act.

"Members of the Board agree that this legislation would adversely affect many Rhode Island and Newport County employers due to the ever-changing weather, the unpredictable arrival and departure of tourists as well as the unanticipated illnesses amongst staff members making this legislation a detriment to businesses," the chamber said in a statement.

In February, the East Greenwich Chamber of Commerce also came out against the bill.

The bill is pending a hearing before the House Labor Committee.

According to the bill, employees would be given 14-day schedules every two weeks. Employees would be able to refuse any work not included in the schedule without repercussion and employers would be required to "not determine schedules based on performance metrics."

The bill also lets employees request flexible schedules and switch shifts with other employees without hindrances.

Employers who fail to give advance notice of a changes shift would be required to pay a minimum of four hours or the number of hours in the scheduled shift anytime a worker shows up for work or is notified less than 24-hours before a regular or on-call shift.

The bill implies that the practice of businesses requiring employees to call in the night before or morning of a potential shift would likely be phased out by some employers since they'd still have to pay the four hours.

Many restaurants have employees marked for call-in shifts and it's not uncommon for an employee not to find out if they're working a shift just a few hours before it would begin.

Supporters of the bill say that low-income workers are often subject to unpredictable schedules and struggle to plan their lives as a result.

It has been suggested that many employers choose to keep more part-time workers on call than staffing full-time employees to save money and free themselves of benefits obligations and paying overtime.

In a post on RI Future, one bank employee said that the company has hinted that they will start pitting employees against each other based on performance and other metrics and forcing them to bid for their hours. The writer said "this Hunger Games scheduling forces workers to compete with each other for the most preferable hours of work. Here, our time rather than a bonus or a promotion opportunity, is the prize.

Meanwhile, in an op ed in the Providence Journal, Dale J. Venturini, president and CEO of the Rhode Island Hospitality Association, said that "it is clear that lawmakers spent no time speaking to the people this would affect."

"Nationwide there exists just one remotely similar piece of legislation that has passed, and that was in San Francisco. But it only applies to companies with more than 40 locations worldwide and at least 20 employees in the city. In Rhode Island, there are no such qualifications," Venturini wrote. "This bill takes aim at all of our local businesses. If passed, it would lead to harmful and irrevocable results."