Pennsylvania does not have a statewide predictive scheduling law. The only enforceable predictive scheduling rule in the Commonwealth is Philadelphia’s Fair Workweek Ordinance, which covers certain large retail, hospitality, and food service employers inside city limits. If you work for a Pennsylvania employer anywhere outside Philadelphia, no state or local scheduling mandate currently applies to you.
No Statewide Scheduling Law
The Pennsylvania General Assembly has looked at predictive scheduling before. House Bill 1024, called the Schedule Predictability Act, would have required employers across the Commonwealth to give workers advance notice of their schedules. It never advanced out of committee. No later statewide bill has passed, and as of 2026 Pennsylvania has no uniform scheduling standard. Philadelphia’s ordinance, codified in Chapter 9-4600 of the Philadelphia Code, stands alone.
That means a cashier in Pittsburgh, a line cook in Harrisburg, or a hotel housekeeper in Erie has no legal right to advance notice of their schedule under Pennsylvania law. Their protections, if any, come from their employer’s own policies, a union contract, or federal wage and hour rules that don’t address scheduling.
Who the Philadelphia Ordinance Covers
The Fair Workweek Ordinance reaches only a specific slice of the Philadelphia workforce. Both the employer and the worker have to clear separate thresholds.
Covered Employers
An employer is covered if it operates in retail, hospitality, or food service and meets two size tests: at least 250 employees total and at least 30 locations worldwide. Chain restaurants, franchise networks, and hotel groups count the entire organization’s workforce and locations, not just the Philadelphia operation. When headcounts fluctuate, the employer may use the average weekly headcount from the prior calendar year.
Covered Employees
A worker qualifies if they work inside Philadelphia for a covered employer, perform retail, food service, or hospitality work, and are eligible for overtime under state or federal law. Salaried managers who are exempt from overtime generally fall outside the ordinance. Full-time, part-time, seasonal, and temporary workers all count if the other criteria are met.
Workers Placed Through Staffing Agencies
When a staffing agency places a worker at a covered employer for at least 16 hours over any two-week period, both the agency and the host employer become co-employers under the ordinance. Both share responsibility for predictability pay, recordkeeping, and every other obligation, and both remain individually and jointly liable regardless of any private arrangement between them.
What Covered Employers Must Do
Give a Good Faith Estimate at Hire
At the time of hire, a covered employer must give the new employee a written good faith estimate of their expected schedule. The estimate must include the average number of hours per week the employee can expect over a typical 90-day period, whether on-call shifts are expected, and the general days, times, or shifts the employee will typically work. The estimate is not a binding contract, but issuing one without a genuine basis violates the ordinance. If business needs or employee availability change significantly, the estimate has to be revised.
Post Schedules 14 Days in Advance
Covered employers must post work schedules at least 14 days before the first day of the new schedule. The schedule has to be displayed in a visible, accessible spot where employee notices are normally posted. If the employer uses an electronic system instead, every employee at the worksite must be able to access it on-site. The schedule has to show each employee’s shifts, including any on-call assignments.
Employees can submit scheduling requests at any point during employment. Those requests might cover specific days or times they prefer not to work, preferred shift locations, whether they want more or fewer hours, or whether they want to avoid on-call shifts. The employer can grant or deny any request for a lawful reason.
Let Employees Decline Added Shifts
Workers can turn down any hours or additional shifts that were not on the posted schedule, with no penalty. If the employee agrees to pick up extra time, the consent has to be recorded in writing.
Honor a Nine-Hour Rest Period
Employees can refuse any shift that starts less than nine hours after their previous shift ended, including shifts that span two calendar days. No retaliation is permitted for turning down one of these close-turnaround shifts. If the employee does agree to work one, written consent is required and the employer must pay an extra $40 for that shift, on top of regular pay for the hours worked.
Pay Predictability Pay When Schedules Change
When a covered employer changes a posted schedule after the 14-day window closes, extra compensation is owed. The amount depends on whether the change gives the employee more work or less.
- Added hours, or a changed date, time, or location with no reduction in total hours: one additional hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate.
- Reduced hours or a cancelled shift, including not being called in for an on-call shift: at least half the employee’s regular hourly rate for every scheduled hour the employee does not end up working.
A 20-minute grace period applies before predictability pay is triggered for minor shift-time adjustments.
Predictability pay is not required when the change results from a power outage, severe weather, or a transit or utility shutdown. It also does not apply when a threat to the employer’s property or personnel forces a change, when a ticketed event or hotel banquet schedule shifts for reasons outside the employer’s control, or when hours are reduced because the employee’s employment is ending. If the worker asks for the change, no predictability pay is owed.
Offer Open Shifts to Existing Staff First
Before hiring new workers or bringing in temporary staff to fill open shifts, covered employers must offer those hours to current employees who are qualified to do the work. The provision targets the scenario where a part-time employee wants more hours but watches the employer bring in outside help instead.
Keep Records and Post the Required Notice
Covered employers must display a workplace notice setting out employees’ rights under the ordinance, including the ban on retaliation. The Office of Worker Protections prepares or approves the notice, which is available in multiple languages. Employers also have to keep records for at least two years, including copies of good faith estimates and all posted work schedules. Under the POWER Act, enacted in May 2025, failing to produce records when requested creates a presumption that the employer did not comply, shifting the burden of proof onto the employer in any enforcement proceeding.
Protection Against Retaliation
The ordinance prohibits retaliation against any employee who exercises Fair Workweek rights. Retaliation includes firing, demoting, suspending, cutting hours or pay, denying additional hours, harassment, intimidation, and threats related to immigration status or work authorization. Workers who file complaints or cooperate with investigations are protected even if the alleged violation turns out to be unfounded, as long as the complaint was made in good faith.
If an employer takes any adverse action against a worker within 90 days of the worker exercising a Fair Workweek right, the law presumes that action was retaliatory and puts the burden on the employer to prove otherwise.
How to File a Complaint
Employees who believe their employer has violated the ordinance can file a complaint with the Office of Worker Protections in Philadelphia’s Department of Labor. Complaints can be submitted online through the city’s website, by phone at (215) 686-0802, by email at fairworkweek@phila.gov, or by mail or in person at 1 S. Broad Street, 3rd Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19107. The deadline is two years from the date of the incident.
After a complaint comes in, the Office of Worker Protections investigates and may try to resolve the matter through mediation. The agency can also open investigations on its own, subpoena records, and inspect worksites.
Penalties Employers Face
Philadelphia’s POWER Act, signed into law on May 27, 2025, strengthened the city’s enforcement tools. The city can now seek civil penalties of up to $2,000 per violation, along with remedies like reinstatement, back pay, and liquidated damages payable directly to the affected worker.
Repeat offenders face escalating consequences. An employer with three or more final violation findings from separate incidents can be placed on a publicly accessible Bad Actors Database maintained by the city. Being listed can lead to suspension or revocation of business licenses and disqualification from city procurement contracts.