On Tuesday, December 15, 2020, the New York City Council’s Committee on Civil Service and Labor voted to approve two bills, Proposed Int. No. 1415-A and Proposed Int. No. 1396-A, that would fundamentally alter the employer-employee relationship for fast food employers in New York City. These two bills will now move to the full City Council for a vote scheduled for Thursday, December 17, 2020. If passed and signed into law by the mayor, these two bills would effectively end the concept of at-will employment in New York City’s fast food industry.
What would these bills do generally?
An employer would be prohibited from terminating fast food employees’ employment, reducing their hours by 15% of their regular schedule or by 15% of any weekly work schedule, or indefinitely suspending employees, unless the fast food employer has “just cause” to do so, or is compelled to do so by bona fide economic concerns. The bills would require all fast food employers to adopt clear policies relating to all standards of conduct; institute a progressive discipline policy for less-egregious infractions; perform “adequate training” on the employer’s standards; conduct a “fair and objective investigation into the job performance or misconduct”; and, within five days of discharging a fast food employee, provide a written explanation of the “precise reasons” for the action. For employees whose jobs are terminated due to economic reasons, the bills would require the selection of laid-off employees to be in reverse seniority order and create functional recall rights for a period of up to 12 months. Employees would have the right to file for arbitration to challenge whether or not an employer had “just cause” for its actions or otherwise complied with the law.
Who is covered by the bills?
The bills would amend Section 20 of New York City’s Administrative Code, and add to New York City’s Fair Workweek Law (FWWL), which have applied predictable scheduling rules to New York City’s fast food and retail employers. These new bills, as currently proposed, would apply to all “fast food employers,” as that term is broadly defined by the FWWL.
According to the FWWL, a fast food employer is an employer that operates any establishment: (i) that has as its primary purpose serving food or drink items; (ii) where patrons order or select items and pay before eating and such items may be consumed on the premises, taken out or delivered to the customer’s location; (iii) offers limited service; (iv) is part of a chain; and (v) is one of 30 or more establishments nationally, including (A) an integrated enterprise that owns or operates 30 or more such establishments in the aggregate nationally or (B) an establishment operated pursuant to a franchise where the franchisor and the franchisees of such franchisor own or operate 30 or more such establishments in…
Read More: New York City Bills Seek to Eliminate At-Will Employment in the Fast Food