After an investigation into the retailer’s scheduling practices, state Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman said last week Gap, Inc. will end employee on-call shifts at all of its stores.
The move came after a larger inquiry by Schneiderman’s office into 13 retailers utilizing on-call shifts, which require employees to make themselves available for an entire day in the event the employer requires them to come in to work. Under the practice, employees call the company during a designated window to learn whether they would be required to work a shift on an on-call day.
Victoria’s Secret said in June it would voluntarily end the practice following a lawsuit from an employee who claimed it was illegal. Following suit, Abercrombie and Fitch said Aug. 7 it would end on-call scheduling beginning in September for workers paid hourly.
“Workers deserve stable and reliable work schedules, and I commend Gap for taking an important step to make their employees’ schedules fairer and more predictable,” Schneiderman said. “With this news, following similar decisions by Abercrombie and Fitch and Victoria’s Secret, I am proud to say that the inquiry by my office into on-call scheduling is delivering results for tens of thousands of workers.”
Westchester and Fairfield counties are home to seven Gap stores each.
Gap announced in June it will close 175 of its retail stores in North America, including 140 this fiscal year. The San Francisco-based company attributed the closings to declining sales. Gap Inc. also operates the Banana Republic, Old Navy, Athleta and Intermix brands.
