Philadelphia could become the next major city to require fair scheduling in the fast food and retail industries. City council member Helen Gym has introduced a bill that would require employers in those industries to give workers two weeks notice of schedules, pay workers for hours that are scheduled and then canceled, and give existing workers a chance to pick up hours rather than having more workers hired for unpredictable part-time work. Right now, workers can’t plan their budgets and struggle to find childcare as their own hours are so unpredictable, as a teenage Target worker trying to help her mother pay the bills told the city council: “There’s no way to support a family of seven or do any financial planning when my hours range constantly from 20 to 35 hours per week,” the 19-year-old West Philadelphian said in written testimony at the March hearing. She was called in to work that day so couldn’t attend the hearing in person. “We have an eviction notice on our house, but I don’t even know what rent I can afford, so how can I look for a new apartment?” Business lobby groups are predictably opposing the measure. Read more