US regulators from the District of Columbia have called on the attention of 15 retailers to discuss the practice of on-call scheduling. It is the practice of canceling work for employees that are working by shifts or by hour.
The letters were sent by different attorney generals from eight different states in the U.S. According to The Wall Street Journal, chain retailers typically use softwares that help them determine the hourly staffing needs using sales and traffic information. This system lets them place fewer staffs on the floor when the traffic is slow and add up workers during busy times. But this practice places the workers' life and schedule off track.
Although it is seen as an advantage to retailers; labor groups, on the other hand, think these unpredictable work schedules can increase stress, strain family life and even get way in pursuing an education. It is also seen as a violation to state labor laws which require workers to be paid even if they are told to stay at home as per Reuters.
As reported by CBS New York, Eric Schneiderman, New York's Attorney General, said the practice is unfair to workers because they have to scramble to arrange child care or transportation with very little notice before their work begins.
Retail companies that received letters were BCBG Max Azria, Carter's Inc, Canada's DavidsTea Inc, Forever 21 Inc, Ascena Retail Group Inc's Justice, Pacific Sunwear of California Inc, Payless ShoeSource, Tillys Inc, Fast Retailing Co's Uniqlo, VF Corp's Van's and Zumiez Inc, Aeropostale Inc, American Eagle Outfitters Inc, Coach Inc and Walt Disney Co.
The letters are requiring these retail companies to provide payroll records, employee handbooks, store work schedules, and the amount of the manager's autonomy to decide workers' schedule. A spokesperson for Coach, however, denied the allegations, claiming they do not practice on-call scheduling. Other retailers didn't give comments on the issue yet.
