Today, DC Jobs With Justice, Jobs With Justice Education Fund, DC Fiscal Policy Institute and Georgetown University Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor released the first-ever study on service sector scheduling practices in Washington, D.C.
Read the Executive Summary here
The report, “Unpredictable, Unsustainable: The Impact of Employers’ Scheduling Practices in D.C,” draws on a survey conducted in 2015 with hundreds of people employed in the District, focusing on the retail and restaurant/food service industries—the broadest citywide study of scheduling practices in the service industry to date.
In line with previous research, it finds that “just in time” approaches to scheduling negatively impact many D.C. employees’ lives, often resulting in erratic and unpredictable hours for the women and men who serve our food, stock our shelves and sweep our floors. Employees are granted too few hours on too short notice, resulting in unpredictable incomes and work schedules that make it hard to budget, arrange childcare, continue with education or hold down a second job to try to make ends meet.
You can read the full report here
Some Key Findings:
- Low Pay Common: The typical employee works 32 hours per week at a pay rate of
$10 per hour resulting in an annual income of approximately $16,000 - More Hours Needed: Four out of five people said it was very important or somewhat
important to get more hours. - Second Jobs Required: Nearly one-quarter of individuals work at least one additional job.
- Unpredictable Schedules: A typical respondent faces a 13 hour range in weekly hours per
month, receiving as little as 25 hours some weeks and a high of 38 hours in other weeks. - Lack of Advance Notice: Nearly half of employees reported first learning of their
work schedules less than one week in advance; one-third receive initial work schedules
with less than three days’ notice; and nearly one-third of retail and restaurant/food
service employees reported receiving less than 24 hours’ notice of schedule changes. - Life On Hold For On-Call Shifts: Individuals assigned on-call/call-in shifts appear to have a
50/50 chance of getting paid to work, despite holding time each week for their employers. - Shortened Shifts: Half of those working in the restaurant/food service industry
reported being sent home before working their full shifts. - Part-Time Work, Full-Time Availability: Sixty percent of individuals said they must
always be available to fulfill any assigned work schedule—regardless of the days or
hours—in order to be considered for full-time hours or the best shifts available.
DC Jobs With Justice would like to thank the Moriah Fund, Hill-Snowdon Foundation, and the Jovid Foundation for their tremendous support of our work and mission.