Philadelphia Fair Workweek Law: Notice, Predictability Pay, and Rest

The Philadelphia Fair Workweek law gives workers at large retail, hospitality, and food service employers the right to a written schedule 14 days in advance, extra pay when the employer changes that schedule late, at least nine hours of rest between shifts, and first crack at open hours before the company hires anyone new. The rules live in Chapter 9-4600 of the Philadelphia Code, and a 2025 city law called the POWER Act added stronger retaliation protections and a private right to sue.

Who the Law Covers

The law reaches employers in three industries: retail, hospitality, and food services. A business is covered only if it employs at least 250 people and operates 30 or more locations worldwide, and franchise networks are counted together when the combined workforce hits 250.¹ In practice that means large chain restaurants, big-box retailers, and hotel groups. A single independent restaurant or a small local retailer is not covered.

On the worker side, you’re protected if you work for a covered employer inside Philadelphia city limits and you’re non-exempt under state or federal overtime rules. Full-time, part-time, seasonal, and temporary workers all qualify. Salaried managers who meet an administrative or professional exemption do not. Workers under a union contract can be excluded, but only when the contract explicitly waives Fair Workweek protections in clear, unmistakable terms.¹

Your Schedule in Writing, 14 Days Ahead

When you’re hired, a covered employer must give you a written good faith estimate of your schedule. It lists the average weekly hours you can expect over a typical 90-day period, the days and shifts you’ll normally work, whether you might be assigned on-call shifts, and at least one guaranteed day off.² It isn’t a binding contract, but it sets a baseline you can point to if your actual hours drift far from what was promised. Never receiving one is itself a violation.

After that, every schedule has to be posted at least 14 days before the first day of the scheduling period. It goes in a visible spot where employee notices are usually posted, and if the company uses an electronic scheduling system, workers must be able to see it on-site.³ Each employee’s shifts have to appear on it, including on-call and off days.

If a change comes after the 14-day deadline, the employer must notify you as soon as possible before it takes effect and update the written schedule within 24 hours. You can turn down any hours or shifts that weren’t on the original posted schedule. If you agree to work them, your consent has to be in writing.³

Predictability Pay When the Schedule Changes Late

Once the 14-day window closes, changes cost the employer money. Predictability pay is owed on top of the wages for hours you actually work, and the amount depends on the type of change:⁴

One extra hour at your regular rate for each instance when the employer adds hours, moves the date, moves the time, or changes the location without cutting your hours.
At least half your regular hourly rate for every scheduled hour you don’t end up working when a shift is cut short, cancelled, or was an on-call shift you were never called in for.

These payments are per change, per shift. If two separate shifts get cancelled in the same week after the schedule was posted, you collect half-pay for the lost hours on both.

When Predictability Pay Isn’t Owed

The law lists situations where the employer can change your schedule without paying the premium:¹

You requested the change in writing, including using sick leave or vacation time.
Two coworkers mutually agreed to trade or cover shifts.
The start or end time shifted by less than 20 minutes.
Safety threats, utility failures, transit shutdowns, natural disasters, declared emergencies, or dangerous weather forced the change.
A ticketed event outside the employer’s control was cancelled or rescheduled, or attendance jumped by 20 percent or more after the schedule was posted.
A hotel banquet was booked after the schedule was posted because of circumstances outside the employer’s control.
The hours were subtracted as part of a documented multi-day disciplinary suspension.

These exceptions require circumstances genuinely outside the employer’s control. Chronic understaffing or poor planning does not qualify.

The Right to Nine Hours Between Shifts

You can refuse any shift that starts less than nine hours after your last one ended, and the employer cannot penalize you for saying no. The same buffer applies after a shift that crosses midnight into a second calendar day.⁵

If you agree in writing to work back-to-back shifts with less than nine hours between them, the employer owes you a flat $40 for that shift, regardless of your hourly rate. Consent can be blanket or shift-by-shift, and you can revoke it in writing at any time during your employment.⁵

Open Hours Go to Current Workers First

Before a covered employer hires new staff or brings in outside help, it has to offer the open hours to current qualified employees. The employer posts a written notice of the available shifts for at least 72 hours somewhere all staff can see it, with the shift details and any qualifications listed.¹ Current employees get first priority, as long as taking the hours would not push them into overtime, and the employer has to distribute the shifts using a transparent, consistent method.

This matters most for part-time workers who want more hours but keep watching the company post job ads instead. Skipping this step is one of the more heavily penalized violations.

Retaliation Protection Under the POWER Act

Philadelphia’s 2025 POWER Act (Protect Our Workers, Enforce Rights) sits in Chapter 9-6500 of the Philadelphia Code and covers retaliation across all city worker protection laws, including Fair Workweek. An employer cannot fire you, cut your hours, demote you, or otherwise punish you for using your scheduling rights or filing a complaint.⁶

The Act adds a rebuttable presumption of retaliation: if the employer takes any adverse action against you within 90 days of your exercising a right under Fair Workweek, the law presumes it was retaliatory, and the burden shifts to the employer to prove they would have done the same thing anyway.⁶ Before the POWER Act, workers had to prove retaliation themselves, which is difficult when the employer holds all the documentation.

What Happens When You File

Confirmed violations can result in back wages, any predictability pay that was owed, liquidated damages equal to the monetary damages found, and civil penalties of up to $2,000 per violation. Under the POWER Act you also have a private right of action, meaning you can sue directly in court and recover attorney’s fees and costs if you win.⁷ The Office of Worker Protections can open its own investigations without a complaint and can refer noncompliant employers to the Department of Licenses and Inspections and the Department of Procurement, which have authority to suspend or revoke business licenses and city contracts.⁶

How to File a Complaint

You have two years from the date of the violation to file a complaint with the Office of Worker Protections.⁸ The office takes complaints through an online form, by phone at (215) 686-0802, or by email at fairworkweek@phila.gov, and a printable form is on the city’s Fair Workweek resources page if you’d rather mail it in.⁹

Before filing, collect everything you can. Photograph each posted schedule with your phone as soon as it goes up. Save text messages and emails about shift changes. Keep pay stubs and check whether predictability pay or rest-period premiums actually showed up on them. Investigators will confirm the employer meets the size and industry thresholds, review your evidence, and may follow up to walk through specific incidents.

Filing in court instead makes the most sense when the amounts at stake justify the legal cost, or when retaliation calls for an immediate remedy like a restraining order or injunction that the administrative process cannot deliver as quickly.

1
Philadelphia Code. Philadelphia Code Chapter 9-4600 – Fair Workweek Employment Standards
2
City of Philadelphia. The Good Faith Estimate for Fair Workweek
3
American Legal Publishing. Philadelphia Code 9-4602 – Advance Notice of Work Schedules
4
City of Philadelphia. Understanding Predictability Pay Under Fair Workweek
5
American Legal Publishing. Philadelphia Code 9-4604 – Right to Rest Between Work Shifts
6
City of Philadelphia. OWP POWER Act Employer Memo
7
City of Philadelphia. POWER Act
8
City of Philadelphia. Report a Fair Workweek Violation
9
City of Philadelphia. Fair Workweek Resources