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Fair Workweek in San Francisco

San Francisco is one of the US cities with a predictive-scheduling (Fair Workweek) ordinance that covers certain retail and food employers. Below is what it asks of a store manager every week — advance notice, predictability pay, and rest between shifts — and how Schedaddle flags each one as you build the schedule. This is general information, not legal advice.

Last reviewed: June 2026

San Francisco passed the first predictive-scheduling law in the US — the Formula Retail Employee Rights Ordinances (2014) — aimed at “formula retail” chains (roughly 40+ locations worldwide) with at least 20 employees in the city. It pioneered the advance-notice-plus-predictability-pay model other cities later adopted.

What San Francisco's law requires

Advance schedule notice
14 days before the work week
Rest between shifts
No separate rest-period rule modeled here
Rest / clopen premium
No separate rest-between-shifts premium in this jurisdiction.
Predictability pay
Predictability pay: 1 hour of pay for each shift the employer adds or changes inside the notice window.
Who it covers
Formula retail (chains ≥40 locations worldwide) with ≥20 employees in SF.
Citation
SF Police Code Art. 33F (Formula Retail Employee Rights Ordinances)

Detail: SF pays HOURS-OF-PAY tiers, not a lost-hours fraction: 1h at <7d & ≥24h notice; 2h (shift ≤4h) or 4h (shift >4h) at <24h; on-call not called in = 2–4h. Both additions and reductions follow these tiers. Modeled as the 1h base (subtractedFraction not applicable).

Rules referenced from SF Police Code Art. 33F (Formula Retail Employee Rights Ordinances); verified 2026-06 (web). Thresholds and amounts change — verify against the current ordinance.

How Schedaddle handles San Francisco as you schedule

Pick San Francisco in Settings and the scheduler applies this ordinance's 14-day notice window and predictability-pay rules. As you build the week it flags, live: a schedule posted with too little notice, and the predictability pay you may owe when you change a posted shift inside the notice window — calculated from a version-stamped record of every edit.

The Smart Shift Builder de-prioritizes short-notice changes and treats availability as a hard constraint, so there are fewer violations to begin with. Advance publishing with app and email notifications, plus a change log, give you the documentation trail San Francisco's recordkeeping rules expect.

Honest about the limits. Schedaddle flags and estimates — it is not a substitute for legal advice and does not evaluate whether your store meets San Francisco's coverage test. It surfaces the obligation; you and your counsel confirm what you owe.

Other Fair Workweek jurisdictions

OregonNew York City (fast food)New York City (retail)ChicagoSeattlePhiladelphiaLos Angeles

San Francisco Fair Workweek FAQ

Does Schedaddle support San Francisco's Fair Workweek rules?

Yes. Pick San Francisco as your jurisdiction in Settings and Schedaddle applies this ordinance's 14-day advance-notice window and predictability-pay rules — flagging short-notice posting, insufficient-rest "clopen" shifts, and the premium you may owe on changed shifts. These are estimates to act on, not legal advice or guaranteed compliance.

How much advance notice does San Francisco require?

San Francisco's Fair Workweek ordinance requires the written schedule to be posted 14 days ahead of the work week. Schedaddle flags a week posted with less notice, and the auto-scheduler is built to draft a complete week well before the deadline.

What if my store is under San Francisco's coverage threshold?

You may not be legally covered (Formula retail (chains ≥40 locations worldwide) with ≥20 employees in SF.). You can still switch the rules on in Settings to offer the same protections — advance notice, rest between shifts, predictability — to your team as a voluntary policy. Schedaddle does not evaluate coverage for you; confirm applicability with the ordinance or counsel.

General information current as of 2026, not legal advice. Verify current rules with your jurisdiction or employment counsel.

Schedule San Francisco with the rules built in.

Pick San Francisco and Schedaddle flags short-notice shifts, insufficient rest, and the predictability pay you may owe — right as you build the week.

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