New York City
Fair Workweek scheduling, without the fines
New York City's Fair Workweek Law sets rules for how fast food and retail employers schedule staff. WizScheduler enforces the rest rule while it builds the schedule and flags the rest.
Two industries, two rule sets
Fast food
Establishments that serve food or drink for immediate consumption, take orders at a counter, and belong to a chain of 30 or more establishments nationally. Franchisees count.
Retail
Retail businesses with 20 or more employees at retail establishments in New York City.
Fast food
- 14 days' notice
- Written schedules must be given 14 days before the first shift on them.
- 11 hours between shifts
- A closing shift followed by an opening shift with fewer than 11 hours in between is a clopening. It needs the worker's written consent and a $100 premium each time.
- Change premiums
- Changes with less than 14 days' notice cost $10 to $75 per change, depending on how late the change is and whether hours are lost.
- Offer hours to current staff first
- Open shifts go to existing employees before new hires.
Retail
- 72 hours' notice
- Schedules must be given 72 hours before the first shift on them.
- No on-call shifts
- Employees cannot be scheduled on call.
- No late changes
- Shifts cannot be cancelled or added with less than 72 hours' notice unless the employee agrees.
What a late change costs in fast food
| Notice given | Hours added or moved | Hours reduced |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 14 days, at least 7 | $10 | $20 |
| Less than 7 days, at least 24 hours | $15 | $45 |
| Less than 24 hours | $15 | $75 |
Fines
$500 per violation per worker for a first violation, up to $750 for a second within two years, and up to $1,000 after that, on top of premiums and damages owed to the worker.
Enforced today, and what is next
- 11 hours between shifts
- Enforced
- Set a minimum rest of 11 hours on a location and every generated schedule, algorithmic or AI, respects it across locations. Same-day split shifts are allowed.
- Availability, roles and hour caps
- Enforced
- Schedules only use hours staff said they can work, in roles they hold, under weekly and daily limits.
- 14-day notice tracking
- Roadmap
- Not built yet. The free checker flags shifts inside the notice window today; in-app tracking is planned.
- Change premium flagging
- Roadmap
- Not built yet. Edits to a posted schedule are not costed automatically.
Check a schedule you already have
Upload last week's schedule and see every clopening and short-notice shift in seconds. No account needed.
Legal summary reviewed on
Source: NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP)