HB 838 — Retail Workers' Bill of Rights.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA H.B.SESSION 2021 H 1 HOUSE BILL 838 Short Title:

838 May 4, 2021 SESSION 2021 HOUSE PRINCIPAL CLERK H D HOUSE BILL DRH40481-LR-104 Short Title:

RepresentativeRepresentatives Brockman.Brockman and Harrison (Primary Sponsors).

For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.

Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House May 5, 2021 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO ENACT THE RETAIL WORKERS' BILL OF RIGHTS TO ENSURE FAIR SCHEDULING AND TREATMENT OF RETAIL EMPLOYEES.

Chapter 95 of the General Statutes is amended bybyadding adding a new Article to read:

(4) Unpredictable scheduling practices and last-minute work schedule changes cause workers who are alreadyalreadystruggling struggling with low wages to live in a constant state of insecurity about when they will work or how much they will earn on any given day.

Prevent part-time employees from pursuing educational opportunities or holding a second or third job that such workers may need to make *H838-v-1* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021 ends meet.

Women are more likely than men to work part-time and *DRH40481-LR-104* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021 experience unpredictability in their work schedules.

For the purpose of calculating the 20-employee threshold referenced herein, employees performing work in other retail establishments in the State that are owned or operated under the same trade name bybythe the same employer shall be counted.

(2) Transmitting the work schedule bybyelectronic electronic means, so long as all employees are given access to the electronic schedule at the workplace.

For new Page 2 House Bill 838-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021 employees, an employer shall provide the new employee on his or her first Page 2 DRH40481-LR-104 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021 day of employment with an initial work schedule that runs through the date that the next biweekly schedule for existing employees is scheduled to be posed or distributed;

thereafter, the employer shall include the new employee in an existing biweeklybiweeklyschedule schedule with other employees.

(d) PredictabilityPredictabilityPay Pay for Schedule Changes.

– Subject to the exceptions in subsection (f) of this section, an employer shall provide an employee with the following compensation per shift for each previously scheduled shift that the employer moves to another date or time or cancels, or each previouslypreviouslyunscheduled unscheduled shift that the employer requires the employee to come into work:

(1) With less than seven days'days'notice notice but 24 hours or more notice to the employee, one hour of pay at the employee's regular hourly rate;

DRH40481-LR-104House Bill 838-First Edition Page 3 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021 (5) Another employee previously scheduled to work that shift has not reported to work on time or is fired or sent home or told to stay home as a disciplinary action.

– Employers shall provide part-time employees with the same starting hourly wage as that provided to starting full-time employees who hold jobs that require equal skill, effort,and responsibilityresponsibilityand and thatareperformedundersimilarworkingconditions, provided that hourly pay differentials between part-time and full-time employees are permissible if such differentials are based on reasons other than the part-time status of the employee, such as a seniority system, merit system, or system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production, performance, or responsibilities.

– The Commissioner and the Commissioner's designees shall have access to all places of labor subject to this Article during business hours to inspect books and records, interview employees, and investigate such matters necessarynecessaryor or appropriate to determine whether an employer has violated any provisions of this Article.

Page 4 DRH40481-LR-104House Bill 838-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021 (c) Presumption.

(b) InterferenceUnlawful.–ItisunlawfulforanemployeroranyotherpersontoInterferenceUnlawful.–Itisunlawfulforanemployeroranyotherpersontointerfere interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this Article.

The appellant shallfiletheappealwiththeNorthCarolinaOfficeofAdministrativeHearings DRH40481-LR-104House Bill 838-First Edition Page 5 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021 and serve a copy on the Commissioner.

(3) After the expiration of 30 days followingfollowingthe the date the appeal is filed, anyanyparty party may request in writing, with concurrent notice to all other parties, that the Chief Administrative Law Judge appoint a hearing officer to hear and decide the appeal.

(4) Within 15 days of receiving a written request for appointment of a hearing officer,theChiefAdministrativeLawJudgeshallofficer,theChiefAdministrative LawJudgeshall appoint animpartialan impartial hearing officer who is not part of the agency and immediately notify the agency and the appellant, and their respective counsel or authorized representative if any, of the appointment.

Page 6 DRH40481-LR-104House Bill 838-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021 (b) Severability.

– If any portion of this Article, or any application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of a court of competent jurisdiction, that decision shall not affect the validityvalidityof of the remaining portions or applications of the Article.

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