Fair Workweek laws improve work schedules without cutting pay or benefits, according to research

A study examining Fair Workweek laws across five major U.S. jurisdictions finds that labor regulations have made work schedules more predictable for service-sector workers, without triggering wage cuts or benefit reductions. Published in Science Advances, the research titled "Fair Workweek Laws in the U.S.: An Appraisal of Intended and Unintended Consequences" is the most comprehensive evaluation to date of Fair Workweek (FWW) laws, enacted in places like Seattle, Oregon, New York City, Philadelphia and Chicago. These laws require large retail and food-service employers to provide at least two weeks' advance notice of schedules, compensate workers for last-minute changes and ban back-to-back closing and opening shifts.