New York Attorney General: Last Call for Unpaid Shifts

In early April 2015, the New York Attorney General’s Office commenced an investigation for potential violations of the state’s “call-in pay” regulation for the Miscellaneous Industries and Occupations section of the Department of Labor’s Minimum Wage Orders (12 NYCRR §142-2.3). Terri Gerstein, the chief of the Labor Bureau within the office’s Division of Social Justice, sent letters to 13 major retailers—including Abercrombie & Fitch, Ann Taylor, Burlington Coat Factory, Crocs, Gap, J. Crew, J.C. Penney, L. Brands (parent company of Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, Pink, La Senza, and Henri Bendel), Sears, Target, TJX, Urban Outfitters, and Williams-Sonoma—requesting information about their scheduling procedures to see if they use on-call shifts.

The letter cites to New York’s “call-in pay” regulation under the Miscellaneous Industries and Occupations (MIO) section of the Labor Department’s Minimum Wage Orders, which sets forth the pay requirements when employees are required to report to work with limited notice. See 12 NYCRR §142-2.3. A similar regulation exists under Hospitality Industry Wage Order (Hospitality Order) “call-in pay” regulation, codified as 12 NYCRR §146-1.5. The above retailers were required to respond by May 4, 2015.