Minnesota Among States Asking Retailers About ‘Unfair’ On-Call Scheduling

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Attorneys general from eight states and the District of Columbia have written letters to several national retailers expressing concern about on-call scheduling, which allows companies to assign shifts to workers with only a few hours' notice.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Wednesday that the letters went to American Eagle, Aeropostale, Payless, Disney, Coach and several other retailers. Last year, after receiving similar letters from his office, retailers including Gap, J.Crew and Victoria's Secret agreed to end on-call scheduling.

Schneiderman says the policy is "unfair" to workers because they have to scramble to arrange child care or transportation with little notice before a shift begins.

The other state attorneys general signing onto the letters include California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Rhode Island.