April 29, 2021

At Dignity of Work Hearing, Warren Calls on Congress to Pass Her Schedules That Work Act to Improve Conditions for Low-Wage Workers

Heather McGhee: Issue of unstable work schedules "is wreaking quiet havoc on the upward mobility of some of our most essential hourly workers."

Washington, DC - In a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing today, United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) made the case for passing the Schedules That Work Act, legislation she introduced with Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) that would help ensure that low-wage employees have more certainty about their work schedules and income.

Unions and working people spent decades fighting for a fair work week, which led to the enactment of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the 40-hour work week. The 40-hour work week was intended to ensure that workers had time for rest, for recreation, and for their own lives, but FLSA did not include any protections for workers to have stable schedules. Today, many workers, especially low-wage workers of color, face unpredictable schedules that make it all but impossible for workers to balance professional responsibilities with individual and family needs, and to have economic security.

In response to Senator Warren's questioning, Heather McGhee, Author of The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together, agreed that the Schedules That Work Act would "absolutely benefit workers and families." She described unstable, predictable work schedules as "one of those issues that is wreaking quiet havoc on the upward mobility of some of our most essential hourly workers." McGhee testified:

"Hourly workers, in general, are struggling, right. They're reporting going hungry, losing housing, scrambling to find child care, unable to invest in their own higher education. But those with unpredictable schedules, right. Those who have such a narrow band of response time for bosses that say, please come into work now, or come into work tomorrow at a different time than you did yesterday, are twice as likely to report those kinds of indicators of economic stress even if they have the same wages and hours and employers."

McGhee also told Senator Warren: "We've simply got to restore the balance and give back the dignity of work of workers who are being abused often in the name of efficiency as driven by Wall Street."

Senator Warren concluded that she and Rep. DeLauro will continue fighting to strengthen federal law to ensure workers have the right to predictable schedules. Senator Warren also noted that President Biden has called for legislation to give workers more stable and predictable schedules.

Transcript: The Dignity of Work
U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
Thursday, April 29, 2021

Senator Warren: Thank you.

Unions and working people spent decades fighting for a fair work week. It was a fight that led to the enactment of the Fair Labor Standards Act and to the 40-hour limit on the work week.

The 40-hour work week was intended to ensure that workers, no matter their occupation, had time for rest, time for families, time for their own lives.

But instead of improving on the protections in that foundational legislation, we've been chipping away at the promise of a fair work week.

And I'll identify three ways.

First, the gig economy companies, like Uber, strip those federal protections away by misclassifying their workers as independent contractors. Second, Congress hasn't raised the minimum wage in over a decade - so people take on second and third jobs just to be able to make ends meet. And third, companies are subjecting workers to unstable, unpredictable schedules.

Ms. McGhee, I want to talk about those unpredictable schedules. Does the Fair Labor Standards Act include any protections for workers to have stable schedules?

Ms. McGhee: No, it does not.

Senator Warren: So, in fact, as I understand it, employers can change someone's schedule without any prior notice and this type of disruptive scheduling practice hits low-income workers the hardest. About half of low-wage workers report that they have little or no say over the hours that they work.

Ms. McGhee, can you say something about how unpredictable schedules impact low-wage workers?

Ms. McGhee: I can. This is an issue that we worked on while I was president at DEMOS. Hourly workers, in general, are struggling, right. They're reporting going hungry, losing housing, scrambling to find child care, unable to invest in their own higher education. But those with unpredictable schedules, right. Those who have such a narrow band of response time for bosses that say, please come into work now, or come into work tomorrow at a different time than you did yesterday, are twice as likely to report those kinds of indicators of economic stress even if they have the same wages and hours and employers. And there are racial disparities among who gets the most unpredictable schedules. And this is one of those issues that is wreaking quiet havoc on the upward mobility of some of our most essential hourly workers.

Senator Warren: Well, I appreciate your raising this. You know, I have a bill with Representative Rosa DeLauro to take on this problem. Our Schedules That Work Act would guarantee that workers have the right to rest between shifts. It would ensure that workers in certain industries are required to get their schedules with advance notice, and it would protect workers who ask for schedule changes from being retaliated against just for asking.

So let me ask. Ms. McGhee, do you think that addressing unstable, unpredictable, and rigid scheduling practices - like the kinds of changes that I want to put in my bill - would this benefit workers and families?

Ms. McGhee: It would absolutely benefit workers and families. And I want to thank you and Congresswoman DeLauro for introducing it time and time again, actually. And it's high time that I believe Congress pass this bill. I'm reminded of a person named Katie Montuse (sp), who works at PetSmart, who said, at PetSmart, it seems we're expected to be available at all hours even when we aren't given enough hours to make ends meet unless you got additional work elsewhere to pay our bills. It's a vicious cycle, and it's not at all fair. That's the kind of sort of quiet rule that needs to be rewritten to make sure that workers have a say. I want to also add, of course, the PRO Act, which would give workers more of a voice on the job, which I know you're supportive of. We've simply got to restore the balance and give back the dignity of work of workers who are being abused often in the name of efficiency as driven by Wall Street.

Senator Warren: I really appreciate your testimony here today. Our laws should afford dignity for every worker - and when companies try to get around those laws, we need to strengthen the laws.

My Schedules That Work Act with Representative DeLauro would take steps towards making sure workers have time to invest in themselves, in their families, in their own wellbeing. President Biden has called for Congress to pass legislation to give workers more stable and predictable schedules and Congress should pass my Schedules That Work Act and get this done. So, Congresswoman DeLauro and I are going to be fighting for Congress to pass this bill as soon as possible. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

In the absence of the chairman, I recognize Senator Van Hollen for five minutes.

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