Update Applicable to:

Employers in Evanston, IL within specific industries (see below)

What happened?

On May 23, 2023, Evanston, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, enacted the Evanston Fair Workweek Ordinance, which imposes a sweeping, predictive scheduling obligation on employers to provide employees with advance notice of work schedules and pay employees “predictability pay” for late changes to an employee’s work schedule. The ordinance goes into effect just before the Labor Day holiday, on September 1, 2023.

What are the details?

The ordinance applies to employers in the following industries:

• Building Services – including janitorial services, building maintenance services and security services;
• Health Care – including health care services or long-term care services that require licensure under certain licensing statutes and regulations;
• Hospitality/Hotels – including inns, hotels, motels and other locations where sleeping or rooming accommodations are furnished for hire and for rent, with seven (7) or more sleeping rooms;
• Manufacturing – this industry covers businesses involved in the production of tangible goods for use from raw or prepared materials;
• Food Service & Restaurants – this industry includes businesses licensed to serve food in Evanston that also have 30 locations and at least 200 employees in the aggregate, but does not include businesses with three (3) or fewer locations in Evanston that are owned by one employer and are operating under a franchise agreement;
• Retail – this industry covers businesses that sell to end users tangible products that are primarily for personal, household or family purposes, such as appliances, clothes, electronics, groceries and household items; and
• Warehouse Services – this industry includes businesses that store goods, ware or commodities for hire or compensation, which may include the loading, packing, sorting, stacking, wrapping, distribution and delivery of those goods.

An employer in one of these industries is covered under the ordinance if it:

(A) employs or exercises control over 15 or more employees; or

(B) is a franchisee with fewer than 100 employees but who is associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees with more than 30 locations globally.

All non-exempt employees who work at least two hours in a given week in Evanston for an employer covered by the ordinance are deemed “covered employees.”

Beginning September 1, 2023, the ordinance imposes on covered employers numerous requirements with respect to employee scheduling and notice of employee scheduling:

• Good Faith Work Schedule Estimates for Newly Hired Employees
• Work Schedule Posting and Changes
• Compensation for Shift Changes
• Assigning Additional Shifts
• Various notice and record-keeping requirements 

For more information, please see the links below:

Ordinance

Article 1, Article 2, Article 3

What do employers need to do?

Employers in the covered industries with locations in Evanston should determine whether they are considered a covered employer. If an employer is covered by the ordinance, it should take steps now to evaluate current scheduling practices and make necessary changes to ensure compliance with the ordinance before it goes into effect. Employers should also identify covered employees so they are aware of which employees will need advance notice of work schedules. Finally, employers should consult with counsel to update handbooks and scheduling policies to ensure such policies are not inconsistent with the ordinance.

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