Evanston, Illinois, Extends Schedule Protection Rights To Hourly Workers

The city of Evanston, Illinois, recently enacted the Fair Workweek Ordinance (24-O-23), expanding hourly workers' rights to predictable scheduling across multiple industries, including hospitality, food service and restaurants, retail, warehouse services, manufacturing, and building services. Effective on September 1, 2023, the ordinance generally places new obligations on employers with at least fifteen employees. For food service and restaurant employers, it applies to businesses that globally have at least thirty locations and two hundred employees; it does not apply to restaurants limited to three or fewer locations in the city that are owned by one employer and operating under a sole franchise. The ordinance authorizes any collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) to impose different terms that exceed the minimum standards specified by the ordinance.