Next business mandate will be employee scheduling

nfib-logoBy Oregon NFIB,

The next big issue for small business is on the table, and it’s called “flexible scheduling.”

“It’s going to be a big deal,” Sen. Michael Dembrow (D-Portland) said in The Oregonian. “But we really think that the time to tackle this is now.”

The flexible scheduling legislation would require some employers to give employees scheduling changes ahead of time.

Although the specifics of the mandate, “such as which companies any changes would cover, and how big those employers might be,” are not yet clear, The Oregonian reports, the legislation likely will mirror proposals already passed in cities such as Seattle and San Francisco, where companies with 500 or more employees must give two weeks’ notice on scheduling changes. Companies in Seattle also must give compensation for the adjustments.

So far, opposition to the proposal has been strong. Organizations such as the Oregon Farm Bureau, Oregon Trucking Association, Associated Oregon Industries, Northwest Grocery Association, and the Portland Business Alliance originally had agreed to participate in a work group on the idea earlier this year but walked away at the first meeting.

Also, “a staggering 92 percent of NFIB members in Oregon oppose these costly mandates,” according to NFIB/OR State Director Anthony K. Smith.

“The last thing Oregon employers need right now is yet another mandate from the state,” he said. “Sick time, minimum wage, flexible scheduling—the only way for us to stop these harmful policies is to change the makeup of the legislature. That means getting this election right and sending a pro-small business majority to Salem.”

Sandra McDonough, president and CEO of the Portland Business Alliance, added, “We haven’t seen a specific proposal, but we think that in the long term, some of these rules actually have a negative impact on employees. The reality is that when employees get sick, they should stay home. And when they do, an employer needs the flexibility to call on another employee to take their place.”

Dembrow, however, plans to go forward with the legislation.

“There’s much discussion to be had on exactly what form this legislation will take,” he told the Oregonian. “But it’s definitely going to move ahead.”


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