Predictive scheduling laws in the US (2026): The complete guide to fair workweek laws for restaurants

Predictive scheduling laws are expanding across the US. For multi-site restaurant operators, these laws can turn a routine schedule change into an unexpected labor cost. 

Change a shift too close to service and you could owe predictability pay, even if the business decision was the right one.

This guide explains where predictive scheduling laws apply in 2026. We outline which restaurants are covered, what non-compliance can cost, and how multi-site operators stay compliant without making scheduling harder. 

‍Side note: This article is general information for restaurant operators, not legal advice. Requirements change, so be sure to confirm current rules with your counsel or the relevant enforcement agency.

What predictive scheduling laws are (and what they cost you)

Predictive scheduling laws (also called fair workweek laws) require covered employers to publish employee schedules in advance, usually 14 days before the first shift. If an employer changes that schedule inside the notice window, they may have to pay employees  compensation. 

The goal is to give hourly workers more certainty over when they'll work and what they'll earn, while reducing last-minute schedule changes that disrupt their lives. 

Although the details vary by jurisdiction, most predictive scheduling laws include the same five requirements:

• Advance notice. Employers must publish schedules a set number of days before shifts begin. In most jurisdictions, that's 14 days. New York City retail is the main exception, requiring 72 hours.

• Predictability pay. If an employer changes a posted schedule too late, they may owe additional pay. Depending on the jurisdiction, that could be an extra hour's wages, time-and-a-half, or a fixed payment for each change.

• Right to rest. Employees must have a minimum amount of time between shifts, typically 9 to 11 hours. If they agree to work a “clopening” shift, they may be entitled to premium pay.

• Good-faith estimate. New hires receive a written estimate of their expected working hours, with some jurisdictions requiring this to be updated over time.

• Access to hours. Before hiring new staff or using agency workers, employers may need to offer available hours to existing part-time employees first.

Restaurants are one of the industries most affected by last minute scheduling changes because demand changes quickly. Weather, local events, delivery spikes, and staff absences can all lead to last-minute schedule changes. 

Fair workweek laws don't stop you from making those changes, but they do make them more expensive. Depending on the jurisdiction, violations commonly carry penalties of around $300 to $1,000 per employee, per violation, on top of any predictability pay owed.

What states have predictive scheduling laws in 2026? A quick breakdown of the fair workweek by state 

Predictive scheduling laws aren't the same everywhere. Coverage thresholds, notice periods, and employee protections can vary by state and city, which makes compliance challenging for multi-site restaurant groups operating across different jurisdictions.

The table below* brings together every predictive scheduling law in force in 2026. Use it as a quick reference to understand where the rules apply, who's covered, and the key requirements for each jurisdiction.

*Verified in July 2026, but remember – laws about predictive scheduling for restaurants can  change as jurisdictions update thresholds, guidance, and enforcement rules. Before making operational or compliance decisions, always check the latest information published by the relevant state or local government agency, or seek legal advice where appropriate.

Predictive scheduling laws by state: A jurisdiction deep dive

For restaurant groups, the challenge is running different scheduling rules across different locations without creating a separate process for every site.

The pattern is consistent across most jurisdictions:

• Schedules usually need to be published around 14 days in advance.

• Employer-driven changes after publication can trigger predictability pay.

• Some jurisdictions give employees the right to decline added or unscheduled hours.

• Several laws include rest requirements between shifts, particularly around clopening shifts.

• Coverage depends heavily on location, industry, employee count, and number of sites.

Let’s take a look at what the regulations are across state lines so you have a clearer picture of how to be compliant across sites. 

Oregon (statewide)

Oregon is currently the only state with a statewide predictive scheduling law. It applies directly to large retail, hospitality, and food service employers.

Who it covers:  Retail, hospitality, and food service employers with 500+ employees worldwide.

What operators need to know: Covered employers must provide employees with advance notice of schedules and compensate employees when employer-initiated changes happen after the schedule has been posted.

Schedule rules:

• Advance notice: 14 days.

• Predictability pay: Applies when employers make qualifying changes to posted schedules.

• Right to rest: Employees receive a 10-hour rest period between shifts. If they agree to work within that window, additional compensation applies.

• Good-faith estimate schedule law: Required when employees are hired.

What changed: No major changes have been introduced for 2026. 

Oregon’s predictive scheduling law for restaurants is a clear example of why predictive scheduling matters operationally: once a schedule is posted, changes can become a cost event.

Source: Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries predictive scheduling guidance.

Seattle, Washington

Seattle’s Secure Scheduling Ordinance has been in place since 2017 and is one of the more complex local rules because coverage depends on both company size and business type.

‍Who it covers: 

• Retail and food service employers with 500+ employees worldwide.

• Full-service restaurants are covered only when they also operate 40 or more full-service locations worldwide.

‍What operators need to know: Restaurant groups need to assess coverage by brand and location. A company operating multiple concepts may have different obligations depending on whether each concept meets the ordinance’s definition of a covered food service employer.

Schedule rules:

• Advance notice: 14 days.

• Predictability pay: Applies when covered employers make qualifying changes after schedules are posted.

• Right to decline: Employees can decline certain hours that were not included in the original schedule.

• Good-faith estimate: Required at hire and updated periodically.

What changed: The rules remain stable in 2026.

The key operational challenge for restaurant groups is managing different requirements across brands. A national operator may need different scheduling rules for different concepts under the same corporate structure.

Source: Seattle Office of Labor Standards Secure Scheduling Ordinance.

New York City

New York City has separate Fair Workweek rules for fast food and retail employers. For restaurant operators, the fast food requirements are the most significant.

Who it covers:

• Fast food: Chains with 30+ locations nationwide.

• Retail: Employers with 20+ employees.

What operators need to know: NYC’s fair workweek fast food requirements create some of the strongest scheduling protections in the country. Employers need to provide advance notice and may owe premiums when they make late changes.

Schedule rules for fast food: 

• Advance notice: 14 days.

• Predictability pay: Applies to qualifying schedule changes, with premiums ranging from $10 to $75 depending on the type and timing of the change.

• Right to rest: Employers cannot schedule "clopening" shifts (a closing shift followed by an opening shift with fewer than 11 hours in between) unless the employee consents in writing. When they do, the employer must pay a $100 premium per clopening shift.

As of July 4, 2021, NYC's "regular schedule" requirement replaced the earlier good-faith estimate. Fast food employers must instead give each employee a written regular schedule showing expected weekly hours, days, times, and locations.

Sources: NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Fair Workweek FAQs

Schedule rules for retail:

• Advance notice: 72 hours.

• On-call scheduling: Restricted. 

What changed: No major 2026 scheduling changes have been confirmed.

NYC is also notable because fast food employers face additional worker protection requirements beyond scheduling, including just-cause protections for certain employment decisions.

Sources: NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Fair Workweek guidance.

Chicago, Illinois

Fair workweek laws for Chicago restaurants are some of the most important rules for restaurant groups to understand in 2026. The city updated its rules in June 2026, and employee coverage thresholds changed again in July 2026.

Who it covers: 

Covered industries must generally have:

• 100+ employees worldwide.

• 50+ covered employees.

For restaurants specifically, the threshold is:

• 250+ employees worldwide.

• 30+ locations worldwide.

Employees must also fall within the ordinance’s earnings threshold to be covered. From 1 July 2026, that threshold is $64,945.55 in annual salary or $33.85 per hour.

What operators need to know: Chicago is a good example of why multi-site restaurant groups need ongoing compliance monitoring. Coverage is not fixed forever. Employee pay thresholds can change, meaning a role that was outside the rules one year may fall inside them the next.

Schedule rules:

• Advance notice: 14 days.

• Predictability pay: Applies when employers make qualifying changes after schedules are posted.

• Record keeping: Employers must maintain records showing compliance with scheduling requirements.

What changed: The biggest 2026 update is the amended Fair Workweek rules, which took effect on 1 June 2026. The city also updated the covered employee earnings threshold on 1 July 2026.

For restaurant operators, Chicago is one of the jurisdictions worth reviewing every year because small changes to thresholds can affect entire teams.

Sources: Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Fair Workweek guidance and the Littler analysis of June 2026 amendments.

Evanston, Illinois

Evanston introduced its Fair Workweek Ordinance in 2024, adding another layer of scheduling requirements for restaurant groups operating around the Chicago area.

Who it covers:

Covered industries generally require:

• 100+ employees worldwide.

For food service and restaurants:

• 30+ locations worldwide.

• 200+ employees worldwide.

What operators need to know: A restaurant group operating in both Chicago and Evanston may need to manage two separate local scheduling frameworks within the same metro area.

That means compliance cannot rely only on company-wide policies, so location-level rules matter.

Schedule rules

• Advance notice: 14 days.

• Predictability pay: Applies when employers make qualifying late changes.

• Rest between shifts: Employees receive additional protections around shifts that begin less than 11 hours after their previous shift ends.

• Additional hours: Employers must offer available hours to existing employees before hiring new workers in certain circumstances.

What changed: The ordinance has been active since January 2024, with no major 2026 changes confirmed.

The main operational challenge is location complexity. A group with restaurants in Chicago and Evanston may need different scheduling rules across sites that are only a short distance apart.

Source: City of Evanston Fair Workweek guidance.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia’s Fair Workweek Law applies to large employers in industries including hospitality, making it relevant for larger restaurant groups operating in the city.

Who it covers

Retail, hospitality, and food service employers with:

• 250+ employees worldwide.

• 30+ locations worldwide.

Franchise locations are included when determining coverage. The law applies to an employee if they perform retail, hospitality, or food service work at a covered employer within Philadelphia. There’s no minimum percentage-of-hours test.

What operators need to know: Coverage depends on where the employee performs the work, which restaurant groups often overlook.

A business with locations inside and outside Philadelphia may need to assess coverage based on where employees actually perform their work, particularly when teams move between sites.

Schedule rules

• Advance notice: 14 days.

• Predictability pay: Applies when employers make qualifying schedule changes.

• Right to decline: Employees can refuse certain added hours.

• Good-faith estimate: Required for covered employees at hire. Philadelphia also caps how wide the estimate's scheduling window can be: the range of hours an employee can expect must stay within 50% above their average weekly hours. A 25-hour weekly average, for example, allows a scheduling window of no more than 37.5 hours.

What changed: The ordinance has been in force since April 2020.

For operators, the biggest challenge is maintaining accurate scheduling records across locations and ensuring changes are tracked properly.

Sources: Philadelphia Fair Workweek Law guidance and ordinance documentation. 

San Francisco, California

San Francisco’s Formula Retail Employee Rights Ordinance is structured differently from many other fair workweek laws because it’s based on how a business operates, not just what industry it’s in. 

The rule applies to “formula retail” businesses, which can include restaurant chains with standardized branding, menus, or operations. That means some restaurant groups may fall under the ordinance even though it is technically a retail law.

Who it covers:

Formula retail employers with:

• 40+ stores worldwide.

• 20+ employees in San Francisco.

Restaurant brands may be covered if they meet the formula retail requirements.

What operators need to know: San Francisco is a good example of why restaurant groups can’t rely only on industry labels. A chain restaurant may fall under a retail-focused ordinance depending on how the business is structured and how the law defines coverage.

Schedule rules:

• Advance notice: 14 days.

• Predictability pay: Applies to certain schedule changes made with less than 7 days notice.

• On-call pay: Applies when employees are required to remain available for potential shifts.

• Rest between shifts: No clopening or right-to-rest requirement under this ordinance.

What changed: The ordinance has been in place since 2015.

The key takeaway for restaurant operators is that coverage depends on the business model, not simply whether the company describes itself as hospitality.

Source: San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement Formula Retail Employee Rights Ordinance guidance. 

Emeryville, California

Emeryville’s Fair Workweek Ordinance applies to certain retail and fast food employers, including national restaurant brands that meet the city’s employee thresholds.

Who it covers:

Retail employers:

• 56+ employees worldwide.

Fast food employers:

• 56+ employees worldwide.

• 20+ employees in Emeryville.

What operators need to know: Emeryville is a good example of why restaurant groups need to look beyond individual location size. The ordinance uses both global and local employee counts, meaning a brand with a relatively small Emeryville footprint may still be covered if it meets the wider company thresholds.

Schedule rules:

• Advance notice: Two weeks.

• Predictability pay: Applies when employers make qualifying changes after schedules are posted. The amount depends on how much notice the employee receives and the type of change made.

• Good-faith estimate: Employers must provide employees with an estimate of expected hours and schedules before employment begins.

• Right to decline: Employees can decline certain employer-requested schedule changes made after the schedule has been posted.

• Rest between shifts: Employees can decline shifts that begin less than 11 hours after their previous shift ends unless they consent and receive additional compensation.

What changed: The ordinance has been in effect since July 2017, with no major 2026 changes confirmed.

For restaurant operators, Emeryville highlights a common fair workweek challenge: the cost of a schedule change is often created before the shift starts. If demand forecasts are inaccurate and schedules need frequent adjustments, compliance costs can quickly add up.

Source: City of Emeryville Fair Workweek Ordinance.

Berkeley, California

Berkeley’s Fair Workweek Ordinance has one of the lower coverage thresholds among local scheduling laws, which means smaller restaurant operators may still need to review their obligations.

Who it covers: 

Thresholds vary by industry. Every covered employer must also have 10+ employees in Berkeley:

• Most covered industries (retail, hotels, building services): 56+ employees worldwide.

• Restaurants and franchise networks: 100+ employees worldwide.

• Nonprofits: 100+ employees worldwide.

What operators need to know: Berkeley’s local employee threshold means individual locations can be affected even when they are part of a larger national franchise network.

Schedule rules:

• Advance notice: Two weeks.

• Predictability pay: Applies when employers make qualifying changes.

• Rest protections: Employees can decline certain back-to-back shifts where adequate rest is not provided.

• Part-time employees: Employers must offer additional hours to existing employees in certain situations.

What changed: The ordinance became operational in January 2024.

For restaurant groups, Berkeley shows why franchise networks need a clear view of employee counts across both local sites and wider brand operations.

Source: City of Berkeley Workforce Standards and Enforcement guidance. 

Los Angeles City and Los Angeles County (unincorporated)

Los Angeles is one of the most commonly misunderstood areas in predictive scheduling discussions.

The important distinction: the Los Angeles City and Los Angeles County Fair Workweek ordinances are retail laws, not restaurant laws.

Who it covers:

Los Angeles City:

• Retail employers with 300+ employees globally (effective since April 2023).

Los Angeles County (unincorporated areas only):

• Retail employers with 300+ employees globally (effective since July 2025).

The county ordinance also considers staffing agency workers and certain franchise relationships when determining coverage.

What operators need to know:  Many national guides mention “Los Angeles Fair Workweek” without explaining the industry limitation. For most standalone restaurant groups, these ordinances don’t apply.

However, businesses that combine food service with retail operations, such as certain food halls, grocery concepts, or retail businesses with kitchens, should review whether they fall within scope.

Schedule rules (for both ordinances):

• Advance notice: 14 days.

• Predictability pay: Applies when employers make qualifying schedule changes.

• Good-faith estimate: Required for covered employees.

• Rest between shifts: 10-hour rest period, unless the employee provides written consent and receives additional compensation.

What changed:  Los Angeles County’s ordinance, which took effect in July 2025, is the newest addition to the current scheduling landscape.

For restaurant operators, the biggest takeaway is accuracy. Not every Fair Workweek law applies to restaurants, and assuming coverage where it does not exist can create unnecessary compliance work.

Sources: Los Angeles Fair Work Week Ordinance for Restaurants FAQs and Los Angeles County Fair Workweek guidance. 

Close cousins that aren’t full fair workweek laws

Several scheduling-related laws are often grouped into Fair Workweek discussions because they affect how employers manage labor. However, they don’t create the same obligations around advance notice, schedule changes, and predictability pay.

For multi-site restaurant operators, understanding this distinction is essential. Building your scheduling process around rules that don’t actually apply can create unnecessary complexity, while missing a real fair workweek requirement can create avoidable labor costs.

Here are three commonly confused examples.

1. San Jose, California: Opportunity to Work Ordinance

San Jose’s Opportunity to Work Ordinance is focused on access to additional hours, not predictive scheduling.

The rule requires covered employers to offer available hours to qualified existing part-time employees before hiring new workers or using outside labor for those hours.

What it does:

• Requires employers to offer additional hours to eligible existing employees first.

• Helps part-time employees access more working hours.

What it doesn’t do:

• No advance scheduling notice requirement.

• No predictability pay.

• No penalties for changing posted schedules in the way Fair Workweek laws do.

2. SeaTac, Washington: Not a predictive scheduling law

SeaTac’s Proposition 1 is often included in predictive scheduling lists, but it doesn’t have a Fair Workweek ordinance. 

The legislation covers minimum wage and labor standards for certain hospitality and transportation employers. It doesn’t create requirements around schedule notice, predictability pay, or employee rights around shift changes.

3. New York State: No statewide predictive scheduling law

New York does not currently have a statewide predictive scheduling law. The state previously proposed call-in pay regulations that would have affected certain scheduling practices, but those rules were withdrawn and never took effect.

For restaurant groups operating in New York, scheduling requirements come from local rules, particularly New York City’s Fair Workweek requirements for fast food and retail employers.

In other words, a restaurant operating in NYC may have significant scheduling obligations, but those requirements do not come from a statewide New York law.

Are there any states that ban predictive scheduling laws? 

Yes, some US states have passed preemption laws that prevent local governments from creating their own scheduling requirements.

The reason is consistency. These states argue that employers operating across multiple locations should not have to manage different scheduling rules in every city or county.

Here are 13 states that preempt local scheduling laws, meaning they bar cities and counties from passing their own predictive scheduling ordinances:

1. Alabama
2. Arizona
3. Arkansas
4. Florida
5. Georgia
6. Indiana
7. Iowa
8. Kansas
9. Michigan
10. Ohio
11. Tennessee
12. Texas
13. Wisconsin

Just to clarify: Preemption isn’t the same as having no rules on the books. Instead, these states have a state law that blocks local ones. 

For multi-site restaurant groups, the practical impact is a simpler local compliance picture. However, it doesn’t remove the need to monitor future state-level changes. 

And if your growth plans include states with active Fair Workweek jurisdictions, it makes sense to build scheduling processes that can handle location-specific rules from the start.

What’s coming: Fair workweek compliance bills to watch in 2026 

The Fair Workweek map could expand, but nothing is guaranteed. Several states have introduced or considered predictive scheduling legislation, yet Oregon remains the only state with an enacted statewide predictive scheduling law. 

The states to watch are:

• Connecticut
• Hawaii
• Illinois
• Massachusetts
• Minnesota
• New Jersey
• North Carolina
• Rhode Island
• West Virginia

None of these states had a statewide predictive scheduling law as of July 2026. Bill status can change during a legislative session, so it’s a good idea to treat this as a watchlist and monitor updates regularly. 

Why Illinois matters most for restaurant groups

Illinois is the state many multi-site operators will want to watch closely. Chicago and Evanston already have local Fair Workweek requirements, but a statewide law could extend scheduling obligations to locations that currently fall outside those city ordinances. 

For restaurant groups operating across Illinois, that could mean a much wider set of employees, locations, and schedules requiring the same compliance approach.

That said, an introduction doesn’t mean it's definite. Many workplace bills are proposed each year and never become law. The right approach is to monitor the legislation, not build a compliance programme around a requirement that doesn’t exist yet.

What non-compliance actually costs a multi-site group

The cost of predictive scheduling violations is easy to underestimate because the problem often starts before a compliance issue appears. A late schedule change is usually a sign that the original labor plan no longer matches real demand.

Predictability pay is the cost of that mismatch.

For restaurant groups, every avoidable schedule change can create additional labor costs. A schedule change at one restaurant may seem small, but across a multi-site group? The same issue can repeat across every location.

That’s why predictive scheduling is so closely linked to forecasting. The operators that avoid these costs are often the ones building accurate schedules in advance with accurate, real-time data. 

They build the schedule with the right coverage from the beginning. Employees receive a stable schedule, managers avoid last-minute changes, and the business serves the same demand without triggering additional premiums.

How Nory handles predictive scheduling with accurate forecasts

The simplest way to avoid predictive scheduling costs is to reduce the number of schedule changes you need to make, which is where Nory can help. 

Nory is an agentic AI restaurant operating system that helps operators manage their workforce and build accurate schedules. 

Payroll used to take two days. With Payroll in Nory, it takes one hour.
Kallie Kocourek, Vice President of the UK Market, Roasting Plant

Instead of giving managers another dashboard to check, Nory uses a crew of AI Assistants to plan, recommend, and automate day-to-day operational decisions. We also manage the compliance and payroll complexity around them so you don’t have to. 

Four Assistants are especially relevant for predictive scheduling:

• The Forecasting Assistant builds the demand picture using sales history, trading patterns, and local factors. With ~97% forecast accuracy, the software gives operators a clearer view of what staffing levels will look like before they publish schedules. That means you can create a 14-day schedule around expected demand, not just your best guess. 

• The Scheduling Assistant turns that forecast into demand-matched schedules, balancing labor needs, employee availability, and location-level requirements before publishing schedules. 

• The Compliance Assistant monitors scheduling rules across locations. This matters when a restaurant group operates across multiple cities or states, where the requirements can change from one site to the next.

• The Payroll Assistant helps calculate premiums when qualifying schedule changes do happen. Some changes are unavoidable. When they happen, operators need to know they are handling them correctly.

The result is more stable schedules, fewer last-minute changes, and lower labor costs.

Nory’s labour compliance engine can also support predictability pay calculation for certain Fair Workweek requirements, including clopening consent pay in NYC, LA, and Seattle.

Nory in action: Passyunk Avenue reduced labor costs by 26% across its US sites after using Nory. Roasting Plant also reduced payroll processing time from 2 days to 1 hour and cut labor costs by 18%.

Recommended reading: Discover the best restaurant management software in the US in 2026.

The multi-jurisdiction operator playbook

The strongest multi-site operators treat compliance as part of scheduling, not as a last-minute check before payroll. They know which rules apply at each location, publish schedules early, track changes properly, and use better forecasts to reduce how often those changes happen.

These six steps work across every jurisdiction on the map:

1. Map every site to its rule set, and review it regularly. Create one record for every location showing the jurisdiction, whether the site meets the coverage threshold, notice requirements, predictability pay rules, and rest requirements. Revisit this regularly as regulations change, and a compliance map that was accurate last year may not be accurate today.

2. Publish schedules 14 or more days ahead wherever possible. Don’t build one process for Chicago, another for New York, and another for locations with no legal requirement. One standard is easier to manage and less likely to create mistakes. If one team works two weeks ahead and another works on a shorter timeline, someone will eventually apply the wrong process in the wrong location.

3. Make the good-faith estimate part of onboarding. The good faith estimate schedule law in most covered jurisdictions requires employees to receive a written estimate of their expected hours and schedules when they start. The simplest approach is to build this into your hiring workflow. Trying to recreate missing information later takes far longer. 

4. Log every schedule change with a timestamp and reason. A clear audit trail helps resolve disputes and shows exactly what happened. Track when a change was made, who made it, why it happened, and whether the employee requested or accepted it. In some jurisdictions (like Oregon), this is also part of the requirement.

5. Route employee-initiated swaps through a clear process. Many predictive scheduling laws treat employee-requested changes differently from employer-driven changes. If employees swap shifts through a formal process, there’s a clear record of who requested the change. If a manager changes the schedule informally, it can look like an employer-initiated adjustment.

6. Fix the forecast. When your forecast is wrong, managers end up rewriting schedules after employees have already made plans. The operators that avoid the most disruption are the ones that can see demand early enough to build schedules that hold.

FAQs about fair workweek laws 

What states have predictive scheduling laws in 2026?

Oregon is the only state with a statewide law. Ten local jurisdictions add their own: Seattle, New York City, San Francisco, Emeryville, Berkeley, Los Angeles City and unincorporated Los Angeles County (both retail only), Chicago, Evanston and Philadelphia. Eleven other states ban local scheduling ordinances entirely.

What is predictability pay?

Predictability pay is premium compensation owed when an employer changes a schedule inside the advance notice window. Amounts typically range from one extra hour of pay to 1.5 times the regular rate. It’s owed on top of wages for the hours actually worked.

How do you calculate predictability pay?

Predictability pay calculation depends on the jurisdiction and the type of change. Most cities owe one extra hour at the regular rate when an employer adds or moves hours on short notice, and one-half the regular rate for hours cut or canceled with less than 24 hours' notice. 

New York City fast food is the exception, using fixed premiums of $10 to $75 per change, and San Francisco owes 1 to 4 hours of pay for changes made with less than 7 days' notice. 

Because the calculation differs at every site, multi-site groups need a per-jurisdiction rule set rather than one blanket policy.

What are clopening laws for restaurants?

Clopening laws limit scheduling an employee for a closing shift followed by an opening shift with little rest in between. Many jurisdictions require a minimum rest period, usually 9 to 11 hours, or additional pay if the employee agrees to work without it.

Do fair workweek laws apply to restaurants?

Usually yes, but coverage varies sharply:

• New York City covers fast food chains with 30 or more national locations. 
• Seattle covers full-service restaurants only at 40 or more locations. 
• Chicago requires 250 or more employees and 30 or more locations for restaurants. 
• Los Angeles City and unincorporated Los Angeles County cover retail but not restaurants. 

The master table above sets out each threshold.

How far in advance do restaurants have to post schedules?

14 days in almost every covered jurisdiction. New York City retail is the outlier at 72 hours, and Berkeley states the same requirement as 2 weeks. Many multi-site operators standardize on 14 or more days everywhere rather than run per-site exceptions, because one standard is easier to enforce than eleven.

What happens if a restaurant violates fair workweek laws?

The employer owes predictability pay to affected employees, plus penalties that commonly run from about $300 to $1,000 per employee, per violation depending on the jurisdictions, and exposure to claims and agency audits. 

Record keeping failures are themselves violations in several jurisdictions, so a group can be paying premiums correctly and still be in breach.

How do multi-site restaurant groups stay compliant with different scheduling laws?

One scheduling system with per-site rule profiles, schedules published 14 or more days out everywhere, logged change trails with timestamps and reasons, and a demand forecast accurate enough that late changes stop being necessary. 

Operators using agentic AI scheduling, such as Nory's Scheduling Assistant built on 97% forecast accuracy, typically cut labor cost 10 to 20% in the first 8 weeks while holding schedules stable.

Build schedules that don’t need last-minute changes 

Predictive scheduling laws are different across every jurisdiction, but the operational challenge is the same: avoid unnecessary schedule changes, keep accurate records, and give teams enough visibility to plan ahead.

For multi-site restaurant groups, the goal is to build a scheduling process that makes unnecessary changes less likely in the first place. This is where an operating system like Nory can help. 

With Nory’s agentic AI, you can build more stable schedules with fewer last-minute changes and lower labor costs.

Curious to know more? Book a demo to see it in action. 

Disclosure, methodology, and disclaimer

Nory publishes this guide and sells restaurant scheduling, payroll, and workforce management software, so we have a commercial interest in operators concluding that forecast-led scheduling is worth investing in. The reference sections are built to be useful whatever you decide about the software, and the product section is confined to one labeled part of the page. Where our approach is the right answer we say so. Where it isn’t, we say that too. 

Every jurisdiction row was compiled from primary government sources and, where a rule was recently amended, from law firm analysis of that amendment. All rules were verified in August 2026. Where a detail could not be verified against a primary source it’s marked unconfirmed rather than approximated (a wrong notice period in a compliance guide is worse than a visible gap). 

This guide is general information, not legal advice, and should not be relied on as such. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change often; Nory makes no warranty as to accuracy or currency and accepts no liability for actions taken in reliance on it. Confirm current rules with the relevant agency and your own legal counsel before acting.