Beginning July 5, 2021, New York City’s 70,000 fast food workers will have legal protections against unjust firings. Earlier this year, the City Council passed a package of bills prohibiting fast food employers from terminating employees or cutting workers’ hours without “just cause.” The five boroughs just got a little more European–as far as labor rights. Bienvenue Chipotle!
Fast food workers are guaranteed a system of warnings and proportionate discipline before termination, unless the conduct is egregious. Retaliatory firings cannot be hidden in broad layoffs because seniority will be recognized, and laid-off workers must be offered their jobs back before hiring new people. Sacre bleu!
Au revoir at will? Philadelphia passed a similar measure in 2019 to protect its 1,000 parking attendants. Industry efforts are being pushed in Seattle and in Illinois and New Jersey. Senator Bernie Sanders wants to make just cause the standard and progressive groups are pushing President Biden to do the same via Executive Order. Nearly one-fifth of the national workforce has a just cause standard through their company’s policies or labor contracts. To be clear, the headwinds from business remain strongly against the just cause standard and almost all states (except Montana–huh?) recognize employers can terminate at will.
With the seismic changes in work from the pandemic and the shortage of workers in so many fields, employers may decide the downside of just cause is worth the upside of attracting workers. In a worker survey last year, two thirds of respondents supported a just cause policy–including a majority of Republicans. Still, with the filibuster and paralysis in the Senate, any action out of DC will be from the White House. And Monsieur Union Joe could be just the man for the job.
Voila! Questions? We can help.