Congress moves to end unpredictable scheduling in low-wage work
H.R. 6786 — Schedules That Work Act · Filed by Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) · 54 cosponsors · Introduced Dec 17, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
The Schedules That Work Act requires employers with 15+ employees to give workers in retail, food service, hospitality, warehouse, and cleaning jobs at least 14 days' advance notice of their work schedules, and to pay extra compensation ('predictability pay') when schedules change with less notice. It also gives all employees the right to request flexible or stable work schedules and requires employers to engage in good-faith discussion, with mandatory approval for requests tied to caregiving, health conditions, or education. Employees gain the right to decline shifts with fewer than 11 hours' rest between them, and employers must pay 1.5x pay for violations.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to establish enforceable labor standards around work schedule notice, predictability, and worker input—a direct regulation of employer scheduling practices in low-wage sectors. It is not a tax measure, subsidy, or commemorative act.
What the text implies
- The 'bona fide business reason' standard is broad and employer-friendly; courts will likely interpret it generously, potentially limiting the practical impact of the right-to-request provisions in Section 3.
- Collective bargaining agreements can opt out entirely (Section 12), which may create a two-tier system where unionized workers retain stronger protections while non-union workers in the same workplace have weaker rights.
- The bill applies only to employers with 15+ employees; small businesses and gig platforms are exempt, leaving a significant portion of precarious workers unprotected.
- Predictability pay is capped at 1.5x regular rate for short-notice changes; workers may still face economic hardship if they cannot work a last-minute shift and receive only half-pay compensation.
- The Secretary of Labor has discretion to expand coverage to additional occupations (Section 9), but the criteria are vague ('appropriate for coverage'), creating regulatory uncertainty and potential for future narrowing.
Who it affects
Low-wage workers—disproportionately women and workers of color—gain enforceable rights to schedule predictability, advance notice, and compensation for last-minute changes. The bill addresses documented harms (housing insecurity, unstable childcare, health impacts) and shifts bargaining power toward workers who currently have little control over their hours. Employers retain broad 'bona fide business reason' defenses, limiting the impact on business operations.
Who stands to gain
- Low-wage workers in retail, food service, hospitality, warehouse, and cleaning sectors
- Workforce management software vendors (e.g., Workday, if they develop scheduling compliance tools)
- Labor advocacy organizations and legal aid providers (enforcement and litigation)
Named in the bill
Department of Labor, Secretary of Labor, Covered employers (15+ employees), Retail, food service, hospitality, warehouse, cleaning occupations, Workday (WDAY) — semantic affinity via workforce scheduling software, Fair Labor Standards Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, Congressional Accountability Act, Merit Systems Protection Board, Office of Personnel Management
Where it stands
54 cosponsors: 54 Democrats.
- Dec 17, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Dec 17, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary and House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on House…”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $75,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 57 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Rosa DeLauro, the sponsor, reported $624,463 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- National Women's Law Center Action Fund — $75,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the full bill text on Jul 5, 2026; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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