(1) Before hiring new employees from an external applicant pool or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, a Covered Employer shall, subject to the terms and conditions of this Section, offer work shifts to existing employees.
(2) The employer shall provide written notice of available work shifts for at least 72 hours, unless a shorter period is necessary in order for the work to be timely performed.
(a) The notice shall be in English and in the primary language(s) of the employees at the particular workplace, as further defined by regulation, posted in a conspicuous location at the workplace that is readily accessible and visible to all employees. The notice shall also be provided electronically to each employee if the Covered Employer customarily communicates scheduling information in such manner with employees.
(b) The notice shall include a description of the position and its required qualifications, the schedule of available shifts, the length of time the employer anticipates requiring coverage of the additional hours, the process by which employees may notify the employer of their desire to work the offered shifts.
(c) The employer may provide the notice concurrently at the location where the shifts described in the notice will be worked, locations other than the location where the work is to be performed, and to external candidates.
(3) With regard to existing employees, a Covered Employer shall distribute shifts, in accordance with the criteria contained in the notice required by subsection 9-4605(2)(b), to one or more employees who have accepted such shifts and who, to a reasonable employer acting in good faith, are qualified to perform the work, provided that:
(a) A Covered Employer shall distribute shifts to employees whose regular workplace is the location where the shifts described in the notice will be worked; or, if no such employee accepts the shifts within the time defined in this Section, and it is a regular practice of the employer to schedule employees across multiple locations, to employees whose regular workplace is a covered location other than the location where such shifts will be worked. If not a regular practice, offering additional shifts to employees at a different location shall be at the option of the employer.
(b) The Covered Employer's system for distribution of hours shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, age, marital or familial status, nor on the basis of family caregiving responsibilities or status as a student, and the employer may not distribute hours in a manner intended to avoid application of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 42 U.S.C. § 18001.
(4) A Covered Employer may hire individuals from an external applicant pool or subcontractors to perform the work described in, and in accordance with the criteria set forth in, the notice posted pursuant to subsection 9-4605(2)(b) if the employer provides notice of available work shifts as required herein, and:
(a) No employee accepts the offer of available work shifts within 24 hours of the end of the 72 hour posting period; or
(b) The employer receives written confirmation from eligible employees that they are not interested in accepting the available work shifts; or
(c) Existing employees have accepted a subset of the offered work shifts, in which case the existing employees must be awarded that subset of work shifts, and external applicants may be offered the remaining shifts.
(5) This Section 9-4605 shall not be construed to require any Covered Employer to offer employees work hours paid at a premium rate under state or federal law, or to prohibit such employer from offering such work hours.
(6) An employer must notify an employee by written communication of its policy for offering and distributing work shifts under this Section, at the time of hire and within 24 hours of any change in the policy, and must post the notice in an accessible location in the workplace. The notice shall state:
(a) Where employees can access written notices of available work shifts;
(b) The process by which employees may notify the employer of their desire to work the available work shifts;
(c) The criteria for distribution of work shifts among qualified and interested employees.
(7) The Agency is authorized to promulgate rules limiting the applicability of this Section with regard to trainees who work for a limited time at a particular location.