Restrictive Scheduling Ties Hands of Small Business
Hurts Employees in the Long Run

TRENTON, Oct. 16, 2019 – Senator Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) discussed her bill, S109, entitled the New Jersey Schedules That Work Act at a news conference today. NFIB, the leading small business advocacy organization in the state, representing thousands of members, is opposed to the legislation. The following comments are attributable to Laurie Ehlbeck, state director of NFIB in New Jersey:

“Senator Weinberg’s so-called “Schedules That Work Act,” would be totally unworkable, inflexible, and expensive for small business owners. The big-box stores may be able to juggle under a mandate that is better named “restrictive scheduling,” but the independent hardware, a caterer, or a restaurant on Main Street cannot.

“This legislation will not help employees as its intended, but instead is likely to result in them losing hours or jobs. When small businesses are struggling to cover shifts and are forced to pay out premiums for unanticipated changes, it will difficult and expensive. They may lay off workers due to the increased costs, or possibly turn to automation and eliminate jobs.

“In large part, small business owners do try to arrange mutually beneficial schedules, but impossible to predict the unpredictable. The business could lose customers if it is unable to have needed staff to cope with those situations.”

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For more than 75 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses, and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.