This post was written by Candace Chewning, Outreach and Communications Director for the Office of Benefits and Wage Compliance.
The Office of Benefits and Wage Compliance within the City’s Office of Labor recently posted the final regulations for Philadelphia’s Fair Workweek law. The law provides service, hospitality and retail workers under covered employers with specific rights and protections. An estimated 130,000 Philadelphia workers will be impacted by the law, including housekeepers, retail staff, cooks and servers.
Protections are outlined in the regulations
The regulations were finalized after an extensive process which involved input from 15 key stakeholders, a 30-day public comment period, and a public hearing. The Mayor’s Office of Labor produced reports on both the public comment period and the public hearing for draft regulations that was held on November 18, 2019. Both reports are available online on the Department of Records website.
Preparing for Fair Workweek’s requirements
The regulations reiterate the delay in the law’s effect date to April 1, 2020 from January 1, 2020—the original effect date.
Employers should look to the regulations for additional guidance and clarification on the law. Included in the regulations are:
- Examples of good faith estimates.
- Categories of covered workers.
- Predictability pay for tipped employees.
- Qualifiers for significant change.
- Examples of predictability pay.
The final regulations state that the good faith estimates requirement for existing employees will not be in effect until July 1, 2020. However, the good faith estimates should be provided to newly hired employees as defined by the law and regulations beginning with the April 1, 2020 effect date.
Philadelphia’s Fair Workweek law is complex and requires employers to adjust their practices. Employers can start taking steps now to bring their business into compliance before Fair Workweek’s effect date—April 1, 2020.
Next steps from the Office of Benefits and Wage Compliance
As with all laws the office enforces, the Office of Benefits and Wage Compliance will host multilingual outreach events in neighborhoods across Philadelphia. The office will also run public service announcements and business trainings.
A Frequently Asked Questions document will be posted to the Fair Workweek resources page online before the April 1, 2020 effect date.
Employers can request compliance assistance or ask questions, and employees can find out if they are covered or request training by contacting the Office of Benefits and Wage Compliance at 215-686-0802 or fairworkweek@phila.gov.
