Mayor Lori Lightfoot is moving to delay a key part of the city’s landmark Fair Workweek ordinance until next year, stopping workers from suing their bosses for violating rules requiring large Chicago businesses to give at least two weeks’ advance notice of their schedules.
City Business Affairs Commissioner Rosa Escareno said deferring that clause in the ordinance until Jan. 1 is important as companies struggle to navigate the coronavirus pandemic and attempts to reopen different sectors of Chicago’s economy.
“We understand that all businesses are struggling due to the COVID outbreak, which is why we are coming forward with today’s proposal to postpone implementation of the private cause of action section of the ordinance until Jan. 1of 2021,” Escareno said. “This will allow businesses to implement Fair Workweek policies without fear of lawsuits during the first six months of the regulations.”
The ordinance passed the council in July after being painstakingly crafted over many months to try to appease influential business and labor groups on opposite sides of the issue. It entitles employees working for bigger companies in the areas of building services, health care, hotels, manufacturing, restaurants, retail and warehouse services to two weeks heads-up on their schedules.
The rest of the rules will take effect July 1 as planned, and city inspectors will investigate complaints that businesses aren’t giving their employees proper notice about when they are scheduled to work. Employees simply won’t be able to act on the results of those investigations by filing suits in Cook County Circuit Court till next year, Escareno said.
Ald. Tom Tunney, 44th, who has long expressed misgivings about Fair Workweek, said he worries the new standards will make it tougher for Chicago’s economy to recover from the pandemic, because businesses will hire back fewer workers.
“This, among other things, is going to be a real drag on our employment for all workers,” Tunney said.
The City Council Workforce Development Committee also passed a Lightfoot ordinance Monday designed to protect workers from getting fired or otherwise retaliated against by bosses if they stay home from work for certain reasons during the coronavirus outbreak.
If a worker stays home while trying to abide by orders from the city or state, or a physician’s recommendation due to possible COVID-19 symptoms, or to care for someone with symptoms, their business can’t take “adverse action” against them, the proposal states.
Under the measure, the city would investigate such claims, and the business would have up to 30 days to fix the violation, which some aldermen said is too long. The employee would be able to sue to get reinstated at work and to recover damages from their employer if a violation is discovered.
The full City Council is set to vote on both ordinances next week.
Twitter @_johnbyrne