NEW YORK, NY—Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Lorelei Salas today announced a settlement with an owner-operator of 30 Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) locations across Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx to resolve violations of the City’s Fair Workweek Law. The settlement, which is the result of an investigation by DCA’s Office of Labor & Policy Standards (OLPS), requires the KFC operator to repeal an illegal waiver that employees were required to sign, pay $80,000 in restitution to more than 600 employees, and submit to intensive and comprehensive auditing by an independent monitor for 18-months to ensure compliance with the City’s workplace laws. This settlement is one of more than 40 investigations that have been closed in the first year of the Law. By settling the violations it found, DCA has been able to secure a total of more than $217,000 in restitution and civil penalties for almost 1,200 workers and ensure that their employers comply with the law.
Under the Fair Workweek Law, fast food employers in New York City must give workers good faith estimates of when and how much they will work, predictable work schedules, and the opportunity to work newly available shifts before hiring new workers. Fast food employers also cannot schedule workers to work two shifts over two days when there are less than 11 hours between shifts (a “clopening”) unless workers consent in writing and are paid a $100 premium to work the shift. Under the Law, retail employers must also give workers advanced notice of work schedules and may not schedule workers for on-call shifts or change workers’ schedules with inadequate notice.
DCA’s investigation into KFC found that, around the time when the Fair Workweek Law went into effect, the employer required workers to sign an illegal waiver to their right to premium pay. Under the Law, fast food employers must pay workers premium pay when schedules are changed with less than two weeks’ notice; the amount of premium pay varies based on the amount of notice provided and the impact on the number of hours to be worked.
In addition to requiring employees to waive their right to premium pay and changing workers’ schedules without providing premium pay, DCA found KFC also violated the Fair Workweek Law by failing to provide the required Predictable Schedule: Fast Food Notice, which must be posted in any language that is the primary language of at least five percent of the workers at the workplace if available on DCA’s website, and for failing to maintain records of the distribution of good faith estimates of schedules and employee consent forms for schedule changes. DCA also found violations of the NYC Paid Safe and Sick Leave Law, including having a policy that violates how leave is accrued and unlawfully limits the definition of family member, and for failing to distribute the required Notice of Employee Rights.
The severity of the violations in the KFC case led DCA to require the employer to agree to pay for and submit to independent monitoring of their labor practices for 18 months, with unannounced on-site inspections and payroll audits. This outcome, along with DCA’s other Fair Workweek enforcement, demonstrates the City’s determination that employers ensure their employees are receiving the protections required by the Law.
“On-call scheduling is devastating for retail workers. You need to put your life on hold and be available for work – regardless of whether you will be called-in or paid. If you are a part-time worker, the uncertainty of your schedule means you can’t arrange for a needed second job. If you are a parent, you don’t know if you are going to need child care. If you want to continue your schooling, you can’t sign up for classes without knowing your availability. That is why the law was so important,” said Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).
This announcement comes just before the one-year anniversary of the City’s Fair Workweek Law going into effect. During the first year of the Law, DCA has and will continue to educate employers and workers about the law—planning, conducting or attending 230 events to help workers and employers understand their rights and responsibilities under the law. DCA has received 120 complaints from workers, which resulted in more than 80 investigations. With enforcement remedies tailored to the varying severity of the violations and in consideration of the need for an educational period during the first year of implementation of a new law, DCA has secured settlement agreements in a wide range of cases, securing a total of $175,419 in restitution for almost 1,200 workers and $42,357 in fines. DCA also obtained forward-looking, non-monetary remedies in the cases it closed, including reinstatement and backpay for workers who were unlawfully terminated. As the first year of the Law comes to a close, DCA will expand enforcement efforts and filed nine cases at the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH). These cases allege violations such as unlawful termination, unlawful shift cancellation, unlawful retaliation, failure to provide good faith estimates, failure to provide premium payments, and failure to maintain compliant written sick leave policies.
For more information about OLPS and the City’s workplace laws, visit nyc.gov/dca. The required notices for the Fair Workweek Law (Predictable Schedule: Fast Food, Predictable Schedule: Retail), overviews of the laws (Fair Workweek: Fast Food, Fair Workweek: Retail), FAQs, and complaint forms (Fair Workweek: Fast Food, Fair Workweek: Retail) are available at nyc.gov/dca and in multiple languages. Employers and employees can also visit nyc.gov/dca or call 311for more information about Paid Safe and Sick Leave, including the Notice of Employee Rights, one-page overviews for employers and employees, and the complaint form. DCA also provides tools such as timekeeping tools, model forms, notices, and record keeping documents to help employers properly implement the Fair Workweek Law and the Paid Safe and Sick Leave Law.
NYC’s labor workplace laws apply to all covered employees regardless of immigration status. Employers cannot punish, penalize, retaliate, or take any action against employees that might stop or deter them from exercising their rights, and workers can file a complaint online at nyc.gov/dca or by calling 311. Complaints can be filed anonymously.