Fair Workweek Laws in the U.S.: An Appraisal of Intended and Unintended Consequences

• In Event: Precarious Work and Workers

Abstract

Fair Workweek laws, implemented in several large cities and one state, represent a new wave of innovation in a century of contestation and legislation around work time. Where previous legislation sought to regulate overwork, these laws aim to regulate work schedule instability and insufficiency of work hours, but evidence on their effects is incomplete. Using stacked difference-in-differences models and original survey data, we find robust evidence that Fair Workweek regulations led to increases in advance notice of schedules and time to rest between shifts and reductions in last-minute schedule changes. We find no evidence of compensatory retrenchment in other aspects of job quality. These average effects disguise significant heterogeneity across jurisdictions, pointing to the importance of local enforcement in realizing policy goals. Fair Workweek legislation has realized some intended effects on work schedules without unintended consequences, but the potential for more widespread, effective enforcement has not been fully realized.

Authors

• Daniel J. Schneider, Harvard University

• Kristen S. Harknett, University of California-San Francisco

• David Arbelaez, Harvard University