The city of Philadelphia passed the Fair Workweek Law mandating retail and fast-food corporations to provide consistent schedules for workers in 2020.
Retail giant Target was found guilty of violating that city law and made to pay $22,450 in damages to almost 70 affected workers, the city announced this week. Target’s starting wage is $15 per hour.
It marks the first time that the city required an employer to pay damages for violating the year-old law.
The city’s Office of Worker Protection announced that the workers at the Target located on Broad and Washington in South Philadelphia were paid damages due to erratic schedules that forced employees to juggle life outside of work. The city law requires employers to post weekly work schedules two weeks in advance. On several occasions, the store did not do so, the city noted in a violation letter to the store in April.
The case is now closed as all the workers have been paid. The Office of Worker Protection reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer that it has received 24 complaints alleging violations of the new law, resulting in two violations thus far. The law went into effect after the city went into lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic and many people in the service industries lost their jobs.
The Philadelphia employment lawyers at The Gold Law Firm P.C. understand the laws governing employment in Philadelphia and in the state of Pennsylvania and have decades of successful experience defending workers against employers who violate those laws. Call the offices at 215-569-1999 or contact us online about your case.
