Predictability Penalty Could Return

A proposal that would severely restrict employers’ ability to manage their workplace schedules and penalize them for unavoidable changes tax already failed this session but could be revived.

HB 6933 required employers to post employee schedules 21 days in advance or face a “predictability pay” penalty if the schedule changes in any way.

Employers knowing the harm this proposal will do are incredulous that it’s being considered.

“The predictable scheduling bill will put me out of business,” said one daycare owner this week. 

“Do legislators not realize that we have state-mandated student-to-teacher ratios, and that I have to constantly call people in to ensure I am in compliance with state law?”

But the child care industry isn’t the only industry threatened by the proposal.

Virtually every industry—manufacturing, construction, healthcare, hospitality, and more– requires some flexibility in scheduling simply because very few people can ever say for certain what challenges they will be facing three weeks from now.

That’s why Connecticut employers work closely with their employees to accommodate the individual needs of workers and the aims of the businesses

But like many other proposals, this idea would take away employers’ flexibility to manage their own workplaces and put state government in the position of micromanaging businesses.

Lawmakers are trying to allay the business community's fears by saying that when the proposal returns it won't look exactly like HB 6933 did. That’s probably true–it may be a watered-down proposal.

But that’s also a well-worn legislative technique to gain approval in one year in order to expand it in subsequent years.

That’s why the predictable scheduling bill needs to be stopped for good this year. 

For more information, contact CBIA’s Eric Gjede at 860.244.1931 | eric.gjede@cbia.com | @egjede