Predictive Scheduling and Fair Workweek Laws: Schedule Notice, Premium Pay and Rest Between Shifts

Your manager posts next week's schedule on Thursday night. Then a Saturday closing shift turns into an opening shift on Sunday, with a few hours of rest in between. Is that legal? Under federal law, mostly yes. In some cities and in Oregon, though, a "fair workweek" or predictive scheduling law may require advance notice, extra pay for late changes and a right to say no. This guide explains how those laws work, using the official pages of New York City, Seattle and Oregon as examples.

In this guide:

• 1. What federal law says about schedules
• 2. What predictive scheduling laws usually cover
• 3. New York City: fast food and retail
• 4. Seattle: Secure Scheduling
• 5. Oregon: statewide
• 6. Side-by-side comparison
• 7. What to do if your schedule changes late
• 8. Keep your own record of the schedule

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What federal law says about schedules

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is about pay: minimum wage, and overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek. The Department of Labor's overtime fact sheet does not address advance notice of schedules, and it states that the Act places no limit on the number of hours employees aged 16 and older may work in a workweek. In practice, that means federal law does not give you a general right to a schedule posted in advance, to extra pay when a shift changes, or to a set amount of rest between shifts. (For how federal overtime works, see our guide to shift work and overtime pay in the U.S.)

Those protections, where they exist, come from state and local law or from a union contract. Hours that are worked still have to be paid under federal and state wage laws, whatever the notice rules say.

What predictive scheduling laws usually cover

Rules differ from place to place, but the laws described in this guide share a few building blocks:

• Advance notice: a written schedule a set number of days before the first shift (14 days in several places; 72 hours for retail in New York City).
• Predictability or premium pay: extra pay when the employer changes the schedule after it is posted.
• Right to decline: you can say no to hours that were not on your posted schedule.
• Rest between shifts: limits on "clopenings" (closing late, then opening early) unless you agree, often with extra pay.
• Access to hours: new hours go to current employees before new hires.

They also apply only to certain industries and larger employers. Being a shift worker is not enough: your industry, your employer's size and sometimes your pay level decide whether a law covers you.

New York City: fast food and retail

New York City's Fair Workweek Law is enforced by the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), and it has separate rules for two industries.

Fast food. According to DCWP's fast food FAQ (dated September 15, 2023), a fast food establishment is part of a chain, primarily serves food and beverages with limited service, and is one of 30 or more such establishments nationally. Covered employers must:

• give workers a regular schedule and 14 days' advance notice of each weekly schedule;
• let workers say no to additional hours before they are added to the schedule;
• pay a schedule change premium for changes made with less than 14 days' notice;
• not schedule a "clopening" with fewer than 11 hours between shifts unless the worker consents in writing, and then pay a $100 premium;
• offer newly available shifts to current employees before hiring new ones.

The premium amounts depend on how late the change is and what it does to your hours. These are the figures in DCWP's FAQ:

Premium per change, NYC fast food. Source: NYC DCWP, Fair Workweek Law in Fast Food FAQ (9/15/2023). Amounts can be updated: check the current DCWP page.

Per the same FAQ, a worker's consent to a change does not waive the premium the employer owes.

Retail. DCWP's page for retail employers says they must give workers their schedules 72 hours before the first shift on the schedule. They cannot schedule employees for on-call shifts, cannot cancel a scheduled shift with less than 72 hours' notice, and cannot require an employee to work with less than 72 hours' notice unless the employee agrees. The page does not list the employer-size threshold, so check DCWP before assuming a particular store is covered.

Seattle: Secure Scheduling

Seattle's Secure Scheduling ordinance (Seattle Municipal Code 14.22, in effect since July 1, 2017) is run by the city's Office of Labor Standards. According to its page, it covers hourly employees at retail and food services establishments with 500 or more employees worldwide; full-service restaurants must also have 40 or more full-service locations worldwide. Employers must:

• post schedules at least 14 days in advance and respect your right to decline hours that were not on the original schedule;
• pay one hour of pay when hours are added to a shift or a shift's date or time changes;
• pay half of the hours not worked when you are sent home early, or when an on-call shift is not called in;
• pay time and a half for hours worked between closing and opening shifts separated by less than 10 hours;
• post available hours for three days and offer them to qualified current employees before hiring new ones, unless an exception applies;
• give new hires a written good faith estimate of expected median hours and whether on-call shifts will be required.

The page notes one exception: no premium pay is required if a public official's recommendation, including from public health officials, prevents operations from starting or continuing.

Oregon: statewide

Oregon is one of the few places with a statewide predictive scheduling law (ORS 653.412 to 653.490). The Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) says it applies to retail, hospitality and food services employers with 500 or more employees worldwide. It excludes workers whose primary duties are not retail, hospitality or food service, salaried workers exempt from minimum wage, and workers supplied by leasing or service companies.

• Notice: a written schedule at least 14 calendar days before the first day it covers.
• Rest: no scheduling during the first 10 hours after a previous day's shift ends unless you ask for or agree to it; hours worked in that window are paid at one and a half times your regular rate.
• Late changes: one hour at the regular rate (plus wages earned) when the employer adds more than 30 minutes, changes a shift's date or times without losing hours, or adds a work or on-call shift; half the regular rate for each scheduled hour not worked when hours are cut or a shift is canceled. No extra pay for natural disasters or similar events outside the employer's control.
• Right to decline: you can decline any shift that is not in your written schedule.
• Good faith estimate: at hire, the employer states the median hours expected per average month and explains any voluntary standby list and on-call expectations.

BOLI's page does not show a revision date, and Oregon amended the law in 2024 (for example, for employees on or returning from paid leave), so confirm the current rules with BOLI.

Side-by-side comparison

Summary of the official pages cited below, as read on October 19, 2026. Details, exceptions and thresholds can change.

Other cities, including Chicago and Philadelphia, have their own fair workweek ordinances with different industries, employer sizes and amounts, so a rule you read about in one place does not carry over to another. If your city is not listed here, check your city or state labor agency.

What to do if your schedule changes late

• Find out if a law covers you. Industry, employer size, location and sometimes the type of job all matter. Your union contract may add protections too.
• Check when you got the schedule and when the change was made. Screenshots with dates are useful.
• You may be able to decline added hours without penalty if your location's law gives that right. Accepting can be different: in NYC fast food, for example, consent to added hours must be in writing and relate to a specific shift.
• Look at your pay stub for any premium or predictability pay that should appear for the change.
• Ask first, then escalate. Start with your manager or HR; if that does not resolve it, contact the city or state agency that enforces the law (for example NYC DCWP, Seattle Office of Labor Standards or Oregon BOLI), or your union representative.

Keep your own record of the schedule

All of these rules turn on dates and times: when the schedule was posted, what it said and what actually changed. Your own record can make that conversation much easier.

Shift2Cal can help you keep that record. Take a photo or upload a screenshot, PDF or CSV of the schedule you receive; the AI reads the shifts, you check and fix them in a preview, and they sync with Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook. If your rotation repeats, save it as a recurring pattern. When a shift moves, you will see the new time in your calendar next to what you had before, which helps you notice a change. Shift2Cal does not calculate pay or check whether a change was legal, but a clear list of what you were scheduled to work gives you something concrete to bring to payroll or an agency. Processing happens on your device, so your documents stay with you.

Sources, all read on October 19, 2026:

• U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #23: Overtime Pay Requirements of the FLSA (revised October 2019).
• NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, Fair Workweek Law in Fast Food: Frequently Asked Questions (9/15/2023) and Fair Workweek Law: Retail Employers.
• Seattle Office of Labor Standards, Secure Scheduling.
• Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, Predictive scheduling.
• City of Chicago, Fair Workweek, and City of Philadelphia, Fair Workweek resources (listed for reference; their rules are not summarized here).

This article is general information, not legal advice. Whether a predictive scheduling law applies to you depends on your location, industry, employer size, job and any union contract, and rules and amounts change. For a specific situation, contact your state or city labor agency, the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division at 1-866-487-9243 (1-866-4USWAGE), a union representative or an employment attorney.