Eastern · Retail
Retail scheduling laws in New York.
New York layers state-level requirements with NYC's Fair Workweek Law (2017), the strictest predictive-scheduling ordinance in the country for retail and fast-food. Spread-of-hours pay and the day-of-rest law apply statewide.
Last updated 2026-05. Statute citations linked inline. Not legal advice — consult counsel for compliance audits.
Rules that affect your schedule
3 New York rules to know.
Each rule includes the statute reference and how Weekwright helps you stay compliant. We focus on rules that affect the schedule itself — not every wage-and-hour topic.
NYC Fair Workweek Law — advance notice
NYC Admin. Code §20-1201 et seq.Retail and fast-food employers in NYC with 20+ employees nationally must post schedules 14 days in advance. Late changes trigger 'premium pay' ranging from $10 to $75 depending on timing and shift change type.
How Weekwright helps
Publish weeks ahead and audit-log every change inside the 14-day window. Compliance team can compute premium-pay liability from the audit log without reconstructing what happened.
Spread of hours
12 NYCRR §142-2.4If the time between an employee's first and last shifts in a day exceeds 10 hours, employers must pay 1 additional hour at the state minimum wage (statewide, hospitality and several other industries).
How Weekwright helps
The audit log shows shift starts/ends with timestamps. Combined with the org's hourly rate setup, you can flag spread-of-hours triggers for payroll without manually reconciling timesheets.
Day of rest
NY Lab. Law §161Most employees must have at least 24 consecutive hours of rest in every calendar week. Specific industries (some hospitality and healthcare roles) carry narrower carve-outs.
How Weekwright helps
MAX_CONSECUTIVE_DAYS preset to 6 BLOCKING enforces it across all verticals.
Official sources
Citations link to the primary statute, ordinance, or agency page so you can verify against the original. This is research guidance, not legal advice — consult counsel for compliance audits.
Pricing
Per seat. Predictable across states.
Compliance rules apply per location, so a chain operating in New York and elsewhere runs each rule set independently.
Starter
For your first scheduled week.
$0/mo, billed annuallyStart free- Up to 10 active employees
- Unlimited weekly schedules
- Time-off, swaps, templates
- Email support
- Most popular
Pro
For teams that schedule weekly.
$3.5/mo, billed annually · per seatStart free- Unlimited employees
- Multi-location dashboards
- Compliance rules engine
- Audit log + insights
- Open shifts + advanced swaps
AI
Pro plus the scheduling agent.
$6/mo, billed annually · per seatStart free- Everything in Pro
- AI weekly drafts + gap fill
- Conversational scheduling chat
- AI insights + weekly review
- Per-shift assignment explanations
Business
For multi-location operators.
$10/mo, billed annually · per seatTalk to us- Everything in AI
- + $99/mo platform fee
- SSO (Google Workspace)
- Audit retention 7 years
- Jurisdiction compliance baseline
- Priority support
Common questions
New York retail FAQ.
What scheduling laws does New York have for retail?
New York layers state-level requirements with NYC's Fair Workweek Law (2017), the strictest predictive-scheduling ordinance in the country for retail and fast-food. Spread-of-hours pay and the day-of-rest law apply statewide. The most relevant rules for retail are: NYC Fair Workweek Law — advance notice, Spread of hours, Day of rest.
How does Weekwright help comply with New York scheduling laws?
Weekwright ships with a configurable compliance rules engine. New York-relevant rules (rest periods, consecutive-day limits, daily overtime caps) are checked at every shift create, move, and publish. The audit log captures every change for predictability-pay calculations and labor-board responses.
Does Weekwright automatically update when New York labor laws change?
We track changes to the major scheduling-related laws (predictive scheduling ordinances, sick leave, daily overtime). Compliance rule defaults can be updated org-wide; we don't push silent changes — labor law is sensitive enough that we surface the diff first.
What about retail businesses outside New York?
Weekwright is multi-jurisdiction friendly. Each location pins its IANA timezone and its own set of compliance rules — a chain operating in New York and another state runs both rule sets independently, on the same dashboard.
Schedule retail compliantly in New York.
Free for up to 10 employees. No credit card required.