Skip to main content

This October, two new class action lawsuits were launched against big brand-name retailers in California. BCBG Maxazria and Forever 21 have been accused of “a new form of wage theft” due to their exploitative on-call scheduling practices. Employees are scheduled for on-call shifts, for which they are required to report to work, and then not given work or reporting-time pay as legally required. In addition to violating legal obligations, this practice makes is particularly hard for part-time workers to make ends meet with a second job, as the on-call shifts mean that they often can’t be available for other work. On-call scheduling has started to receive closer scrutiny in Canada as well. Ontario is currently conducting a review of its labour laws and holding public consultations about what it calls “changing workplaces.”