Comments by Senator Brad Hoylman on Work Shift Fairness Act in Support of New York’s Working Families

NEW YORK – State Senator Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan) gave remarks at a press conference with the Senate Democratic Conference today unveiling a set of policy initiatives to help New York families during the critical early childhood period. Among the initiatives -- which included paid family leave, increased access to childcare, and assistance for New York’s working parents and caregivers -- was a bill sponsored by Senator Hoylman to end employer-mandated “call-in shifts” that require workers to find out at the last minute whether they have to report to work on a given day.

Senator Hoylman’s full remarks are below:

“Thank you Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and the Senate Democratic Conference Policy Committee for bringing issues of working families and children to the table. You know what they say: If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu. My bill, the Work Shift Fairness Act, which I carry with Assembly Member Nily Rozic, would end the practice of on-call scheduling.

“On-call scheduling occurs when an employer calls an employee to report to work on less than 24 hours notice. As a result, that worker has to scramble to get child care and elder care, transportation, re-schedule other jobs, cancel classes. And sometimes that worker reports to work, and then gets sent home, because they weren’t needed.

“Time is money. If you have to move your schedule around in less than 24 hours to accommodate your boss, you should get paid for it. Our bill mandates at least 4 hours pay in these instances at least at the minimum wage.

“It’s time to stop treating workers as fungible widgets and give them and their families the respect they deserve. Attorney General Schneiderman has investigated this practice and received the cooperation of some big retailers like The Gap and Target, but the Legislature should pass comprehensive legislation and end this unfair practice once and for all.”