New York City will become the latest city to increase protections for retail and fast food workers with a package of bills Mayor Bill de Blasio signed this week.

The bills, which would affect as many as 65,000 workers, includes requirements for employers to provide workers their schedules two weeks in advance, eliminates consecutive shifts, allows employers to offer opportunities to current employees and allows workers to contribute to nonprofit organizations. Another bans on-call scheduling.

San Francisco and Seattle have enacted similar laws. New York is the largest city to make these changes and the mayor called it the most progressive restaurant rights laws in the country. The bills will take effect in six months. Unions have lauded the moves for creating increased protections for an often overworked industry and some business groups have criticized the legislation for restricting flexibility.

We spoke with Daniel Kadish, a Morgan, Lewis & Bockius associate in New York who specializes in employment law, about what employers in New York and the rest of the country need to consider about these new laws. Excerpts from our conversation are below.

What are some important considerations about these new laws?

Kadish said the laws, designed to provide a good workplace with scheduling and compensation for fast food workers, will represent a big shift for employers. The restaurant industry often faces challenges about how many workers will be needed a week or two weeks in advance, he said. Current law was ambiguous about the on-call system, for example. Restaurants and retail often rely on flexible schedules—New York's new law will remove that flexibility, according to Kadish.

How will employers be affected?  

The ban on consecutive shifts was an “interesting twist,” Kadish said. “There was one aspect that was not widely reported that prevents employers from working closing shifts and opening the next day. He said this is an example of something that might create addition scheduling headaches.

“With scheduling, employers are looking at labor costs,” he said. “To that extent, this may create administrative burdens to comply with the new laws.”

Another example is the requirement to provide worker schedules two weeks in advance.

“This is an industry where people aren't working 9-5 every day. That type of advance notice is difficult,” he said.