(a) Initial Estimate of Minimum Hours.
(1) Prior to the start of employment, an Employer shall provide a new Employee with a good faith estimate in writing of the Employee’s expected minimum number of scheduled shifts per month, and the days and hours of those shifts. This estimate shall include On-Call Shifts. The estimate shall not constitute a contractual offer and the Employer shall not be bound by the estimate.
(2) Prior to the start of employment, the Employee may request that the Employer modify the proposed work schedule provided under subsection (a)(1) of this Section 42.4. The Employer shall consider any such request, and in its sole discretion may accept or reject the request, provided that the Employer shall notify the Employee of its determination prior to the start of employment.
(b) Two Weeks’ Notice of Work Schedules. An Employer shall provide its Employees with at least two weeks’ notice of their work schedules by doing one of the following at least every 14 days (on a “Biweekly Schedule”): (1) posting the work schedule in a conspicuous place at the workplace that is readily accessible and visible to all Employees, or (2) transmitting the work schedule by electronic means, so long as all Employees are given access to the electronic schedule at the workplace. For new Employees, an Employer shall provide the new Employee on his or her first day of employment with an initial work schedule that runs through the date that the next Biweekly Schedule for existing Employees is scheduled to be posted or distributed; thereafter, the Employer shall include the new Employee in an existing Biweekly Schedule with other Employees. For all Employees, the work schedule shall include any On-Call Shifts, where applicable. If the Employer changes the work schedule after it is posted and/or transmitted, such changes shall be subject to the notice and compensation requirements set forth in subsection (c) of this Section 42.4.
(c) Notice and Compensation For Schedule Changes.
(1) Notice Required. An Employer shall provide an Employee notice of any change to the Employee’s schedule that has been posted or transmitted pursuant to subsection (b) of this Section 42.4. The Employer shall provide such notice by in-person conversation, telephone call, or email, text message, or other electronic communication. This notice requirement shall not apply to any schedule changes that the Employee requests, such as Employee-requested sick leave, time off, shift trades, or additional shifts.
(2) Predictability Pay For Schedule Changes. Subject to the exceptions in subsection (e) of this Section 42.4, an Employer shall provide an Employee with the following compensation per shift for each previously scheduled shift that the Employer moves to another date or time or cancels, or each previously unscheduled shift that the Employer requires the Employee to come into work:
(A) With less than seven days’ notice but 24 hours or more notice to the Employee, one hour of pay at the Employee’s regular hourly rate;
(B) With less than 24 hours’ notice to the Employee, two hours of pay at the Employee’s regular hourly rate for each shift of four hours or less; and
(C) With less than 24 hours’ notice to the Employee, four hours of pay at the Employee’s regular hourly rate for each shift of more than four hours.
Where the Employee is required to come into work, the compensation mandated by this subsection (c)(2) shall be in addition to the Employee’s regular pay for working that shift. This subsection (c)(2) shall apply to On-Call Shifts.
(d) Pay for On-Call Shifts. Subject to the exceptions in subsection (e) of this Section 42.4, an Employer shall provide an Employee with the following compensation for each On-Call Shift for which the Employee is required to be available but is not called in to work:
(1) Two hours of pay at the Employee’s regular hourly rate for each On-Call Shift of four hours or less; and
(2) Four hours of pay at the Employee’s regular hourly rate for each On-Call Shift of more than four hours.
This subsection (d) shall not apply when the Employee is in fact called in for the On-Call Shift.
(e) Exceptions. The requirements in subsections (c) and (d) of this Section 42.4 shall not apply under any of the following circumstances:
(1) Operations cannot begin or continue due to threats to Employees or property, or when civil authorities recommend that work not begin or continue;
(2) Operations cannot begin or continue because public utilities fail to supply electricity, water, or gas, or there is a failure in the public utilities, or sewer system;
(3) Operations cannot begin or continue due to an Act of God or other cause not within the Employer’s control;
(4) Another Employee previously scheduled to work that shift is unable to work due to illness, vacation, or employer-provided paid or unpaid time off where the Employer did not receive at least seven days’ notice of the absence;
(5) Another Employee previously scheduled to work that shift has not reported to work on time and/or is fired or sent home or told to stay home as a disciplinary action;
(6) The Employer requires the Employee to work overtime (i.e., mandatory overtime); or
(7) The Employee trades shifts with another Employee or requests from the Employer a change in shift(s), hours, or work schedule.
(f) Nothing in this Section 42.4 shall be construed to prohibit an Employer from providing greater advance notice of Employees’ work schedules and/or changes in schedules than that required by this Section.
(g) The requirements imposed by this Section 42.4 shall apply to Property Services Contractors as to work performed in San Francisco at a Formula Retail Establishment covered by this Article 42, under a contract with an Employer. An Employer shall include in any such contract executed on or after the operative date of this Article 42, (1) a provision requiring the Property Services Contractor to comply with this Article and (2) a copy of this Article. The Employer shall retain copies of such contracts for a period of not less than three years following the expiration or termination of the contract, and make such copies available to the Agency for inspection upon request. In addition, Sections 42.6, 42.7, 42.9, 42.10, and 42.11 of this Article shall apply to a Property Services Contractor as if it is an Employer for purposes of notice, record retention, compliance, investigation, and enforcement of the requirements of this Section 42.4.