Effects of Fair Workweek Laws on Labor Market Outcomes

Abstract

This paper models fair workweek regulations that require employers to provide employees with (1) schedule predictability via advance notice of their work schedule and premium payments for short-notice changes, and (2) access to hours meaning they must offer open hours to existing employees before hiring new workers. We develop a theoretical model of employers' responses to these provisions and their implications for employment. Guided by the model, we estimate the effects of recently adopted fair workweek regulation in New York City's fast-food sector using a synthetic difference-in-differences design. We find a null employment effect.