(a) Beginning on the Operative Date of Amendments, an Employer to whom an Employee submits a notice under Section 32.4 may elect to meet with the Employee regarding a Flexible or Predictable Working Arrangement within 14 days of the oral or written notice.
(c) Decision or Interactive Process.
(1) An Employer who agrees to the Flexible or Predictable Working Arrangement shall confirm the arrangement in writing to the Employee.
(2) An Employer who does not agree to the Flexible or Predictable Working Arrangement shall engage in an interactive process with the Employee to attempt in good faith to determine a Flexible or Predictable Working Arrangement that is acceptable to both the Employee and Employer.
(3) An Employer may deny a Flexible or Predictable Working Arrangement that would be acceptable to the Employee only if granting such an arrangement would cause the Employer undue hardship by causing the Employer significant expense or operational difficulty when considered in relation to the size, financial resources, nature, or structure of the Employer’s business. An Employer must explain the denial in a written response that sets out the basis for the denial and notifies the Employee of the right to request reconsideration by the Employer under Section 32.6 and the right to file a complaint under Section 32.10, and includes a copy of the notice under Section 32.8. Bases for undue hardship may include, but are not limited to, the following:
(A) The identifiable costs directly caused by the Flexible or Predictable Working Arrangement, including but not limited to the cost of productivity loss, retraining or hiring Employees, or transferring Employees from one facility to another facility.
(B) Detrimental effect on ability to meet customer or client demands.
(C) Inability to organize work among other Employees.
(D) Insufficiency of work to be performed during the time or at the location the Employee proposes to work.
(d) A Flexible or Predictable Working Arrangement may be altered by mutual agreement of the Employer and Employee. An Employer who concludes that a Flexible or Predictable Working Arrangement is causing the Employer undue hardship shall engage in an interactive process with the Employee to attempt in good faith to determine a different Flexible or Predictable Working Arrangement that would be acceptable to both the Employee and Employer. If such interactive process is unsuccessful in determining a different Flexible or Predictable Working Arrangement, an Employer may revoke the existing Flexible or Predictable Working Arrangement after the interactive process with 14 days written notice to the Employee.
(e) For an Employer who grants a Predictable Working Arrangement, if the Employer has insufficient work for the Employee during the period of the Predictable Working Arrangement, nothing in this Article 32 requires the Employer to compensate the Employee during such period of insufficient work.
(Added as Administrative Code Sec. 12Z.5 by Ord. 209-13, File No. 130785, App. 10/9/2013, Eff. 11/8/2013, Oper. 1/1/2014; amended by Ord. 39-22, File No. 211296, App. 3/14/2022, Eff. 4/14/2022, Oper. 7/13/2022; redesignated by Ord. 221-23, File No. 230835, App. 11/3/2023, Eff. 12/4/2023, Oper. 1/4/2024)