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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 4, 2017)
4A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 2017 Employers seek more changes to predictive scheduling legislation Employers opposed to advance notice By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau SALEM — Despite pro- posed revisions to a bill that would mandate two weeks’ notice for employee schedule changes and penalty pay for changes without the required notice, employers contin- ued to voice opposition to the regulations during a hearing Monday. The legislation is “an ill-conceived attempt to more formally systematize what is inherently a very fluid and dynamic process,” said Chris Girard of Plaid Pantry Inc. Girard said the bill “would actually reduce flexibility in meeting employees’ sched- uling needs.” Many employ- ees request last-minute changes, and the two-week notice requirement makes it harder for employers to accommodate those requests, he said. A proposed amendment to the bill, however, would give employers a big concession. The amendment removes a requirement for “on-call pay.” The provision would have required employers to pay for up to four hours of work if the employee is on call but works no hours. The agriculture community and other busi- nesses cheered the change but are still concerned about meet- ing the requirements, espe- cially in industries dependent on weather or deliveries such as construction or nurseries. Employers said they’re also concerned with a pro- vision that would give employees the right to request a schedule change and make retaliation against the employee an unlawful employment practice. The language in the bill could open businesses up to frivolous lawsuits when bosses deny such requests, said Betsy Earls, a lobbyist for Associated Oregon Indus- tries and the Oregon Retail Council. Lobbyists with public employers urged lawmak- ers to give an exemption for collective bargaining agree- ments, as Seattle did in its similar ordinance, because the agreements spell out the pro- cess for schedule changes and could conflict with the law. The requirements would apply only to retail, hospital- ity and food services estab- lishments with 25 or more employees in Oregon. If passed, the so-called “predictive scheduling” legis- lation would be the first state- wide law of its kind in the nation. Only local jurisdic- tions, such as San Francisco and Seattle, have passed com- parable policies. Similar leg- islation stalled in the Oregon Legislature in 2015. Not all employers oppose the bill. A representative from the New Seasons grocery chain spoke in support of the proposed regulations. “We know from firsthand experience that when work- ers have fair and predictable scheduling, families thrive and businesses succeed,” said Sarah Joannides, social responsibility director at New Seasons. Joannides said many customers shop at the chain because of the way the com- pany treats its employees. Several employees in the service industry also spoke about how they have strug- gled when they haven’t been able to know their schedule in advance. One man said he was given 15 minutes’ notice that he would be required to work a double shift. State Sen. Michael Dem- brow, D-Portland, sponsored this year’s legislation after convening a work group on predictive scheduling last year. Several members from the business community boy- cotted the work group meet- ings because they said they felt attempts to regulate and tax businesses in Oregon have become increasingly over- reaching and anti-business. At the time, they pointed to Measure 97, which sought to tax certain large corporations on sales. Voters defeated the measure overwhelmingly in November. Surveys, however, show that employers often sched- ule employees with less than 24 hours’ notice, Mary King, a labor economist and profes- sor at Portland State Univer- sity, testified in late Febru- ary. King and two researchers from the University of Ore- gon completed a report on their research earlier this year. With such short notice, some employees cannot find child care, make doctor’s appoint- ments, work second jobs or attend school, she said. The Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. Capital Bureau photos LEFT: State Sen. Kathleen Taylor, chairwoman of the Workforce Committee, and Legislative Analyst Debra Maryanov review paperwork before a hearing on predictive scheduling Monday at the Capitol in Salem. RIGHT: Members of the Working Families Party sit in a hearing on a predictive scheduling bill in the Senate Workforce Committee at the Cap- itol in Salem Monday. Left to right, in the front row are Ian Johnson, Mark Hehlen and Nicholas Phelan, all of Portland. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO PLAY OR WIN. See store for offi cial rules & odds chart. Series MON-10. Pictures of prizes are for informational purposes only and may not depict the exact prize awarded. Pictures or logos used as representations of prizes do not imply sponsorship in any way. Effective 02/08/17 - 05/09/17. The MONOPOLY game is in-store only and not available for online orders. *30-year annuity paid out in equal installments of $33,333.33 per year with no interest clip or CLICK! 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