Fair Workweek Software

Yes. Fair Workweek and predictive scheduling laws generally refer to the same type of regulations—local labor laws aimed at making work schedules more predictable for employees. The terms are often used interchangeably.

No. There is currently no federal law governing predictive scheduling. Most regulations exist at the city and local level. However, Oregon has a statewide predictive scheduling law that applies to certain employers, particularly in retail, hospitality, and food service.

Coverage varies by jurisdiction, but Fair Workweek laws typically apply to businesses that meet certain thresholds, such as company size, number of employees, number of locations, or industry type.

For example, in Berkeley, restaurants with 100 or more employees globally must comply with the ordinance. In contrast, retail employers may be covered once they reach 56 employees.

Fair Workweek laws add complexity to workforce management. Even without these regulations, tasks like time tracking, scheduling, and aligning staffing with demand are already time-consuming and critical.

With predictive scheduling requirements, businesses must not only create schedules that meet operational needs but also publish them well in advance. This can be particularly challenging in industries with fluctuating demand, such as retail and hospitality.

Employee scheduling software can play a key role in maintaining compliance—when implemented correctly.

The right system should have the functionality that enables managers to build demand-based schedules ahead of time and ensure they're distributed within the required notice period. This helps businesses maintain optimal staffing levels while giving employees greater visibility and predictability over their shifts.

Most tools stop at reporting. They'll flag which schedule changes may require a premium payout, but actually getting those payments onto employee timesheets is still a manual process—cross-referencing changes, calculating amounts, and adding them one by one. That's time-consuming and leaves room for error.

The same gap shows up with attestations. When an employee is late or requests an out-of-system change, most tools have no way to capture their acknowledgment—so it ends up on paper, or not at all.

Workforce.com handles both automatically. Premium pay is calculated and added to timesheets without manual entry, flagged for approval, and removed if an exception applies. Attestations are sent directly to the employee and captured digitally, so every change has a documented paper trail.

Workforce.com offers employee scheduling tools that streamline scheduling and align staffing levels with forecasted demand. This helps managers avoid over- or understaffing and ensures schedules are delivered within required notice periods (often 14 days in advance).

Premium pay is calculated automatically based on actual hours worked, added directly to timesheets, and flagged for approval. And every schedule change comes with a documented paper trail, including employee attestations, so you're audit-ready without the manual work.

Staying compliant comes down to a combination of process, technology, and awareness.

Key best practices include:

• Using workforce management software to automate scheduling and compliance checks
• Staying up to date with local regulations, as requirements can change frequently
• Training managers on Fair Workweek rules and how to apply them in day-to-day scheduling practices
• Building schedules as early as possible to meet advance notice requirements and avoid last-minute changes
• Keeping accurate records of schedules, changes, and employee consent where required
• Ensuring employees are paid correctly for schedule changes, including any predictability pay or premiums

Even if Fair Workweek laws don't currently apply to your business, it's worth putting the right systems in place early. As more jurisdictions adopt these regulations, being prepared helps you avoid operational disruption and compliance risks down the line.