For too many Michigan workers, the work schedule isn’t just a calendar—it’s a source of constant stress. Unpredictable shifts mean missed childcare pickups, lost income, scrambling for transportation, sleepless nights, and the crushing exhaustion of trying to plan your life around a schedule that changes by the hour. When your employer controls your time without warning, it impacts everything—your family, your health, and your financial stability.

Michigan’s Fair Scheduling Act was designed to put an end to this chaos. It brings stability, fairness, and dignity back to workers who deserve predictable hours and basic respect. The law recognizes something employers often forget: you are a human being, not a number on a scheduling app.

At Marko Law, we’ve seen firsthand how abusive scheduling can be used as a weapon—cutting hours as punishment, assigning clopening shifts to push workers out, or making workers “on-call” without compensation. Our firm has a long history of standing up for Michigan employees whose bosses use schedules to manipulate or destabilize them. And when employers cross the line, we don’t back down.

What Michigan’s Fair Scheduling Act Is and Why It Exists

The Purpose of the Law

For years, industries like retail, hospitality, food service, and healthcare have relied on abusive scheduling practices to squeeze more labor out of workers while avoiding financial responsibility. The Fair Scheduling Act exists because these practices became widespread:

• Last-minute schedule changes that leave workers scrambling
• Clopening shifts, where workers close late at night and return early the next morning
• Mandatory on-call availability without guaranteed hours or pay
• Cut hours or fluctuating schedules used as retaliation or control

These tactics don’t just disrupt a worker’s life—they create instability by design. Employers use unpredictable schedules to keep workers compliant, afraid to speak up, and constantly available. Michigan’s Fair Scheduling Act steps in to stop these abuses and ensure that workers have the stability and predictability they need to care for themselves and their families.

Who the Law Applies To

The Fair Scheduling Act is aimed at protecting the workers who suffer most from unstable scheduling practices. It applies to:

• Hourly and shift-based employees, including part-time and full-time staff
• Workers in large retail chains, restaurants, hospitality operations, grocery stores, and other service-sector employers
• Employees in workplaces where management has significant control over scheduling technology and staffing levels

Depending on the final regulatory structure, small employers or certain industries may be exempt, but the law’s primary focus is on larger companies that have the resources—and the power—to schedule fairly but too often choose not to.

Key Protections Under Michigan’s Fair Scheduling Act

Advance Notice of Work Schedules

One of the most important protections under the Act is the guarantee of advance notice.

• Most employers must provide schedules at least 14 days in advance.
• Schedules must be posted in a clear, accessible place—not hidden in an app or handed out last-minute.
• If an employer changes your shift after the schedule has been posted, you have rights, including the right to decline or receive additional pay.

Predictability Pay

Your time is valuable. When employers disrupt your schedule, the law requires them to compensate you for the inconvenience.

Predictability pay may be owed when an employer:

• Cancels a shift without proper notice
• Cuts hours after posting the schedule
• Adds hours unexpectedly
• Changes shift start or end times

The amount is typically tied to the number of hours changed or canceled. 

Right to Decline Last-Minute or Added Shifts

Under the Fair Scheduling Act, workers no longer have to fear retaliation for saying “no.”

• You cannot be punished for declining shifts that fall outside the posted schedule.
• Employers are prohibited from disciplining, threatening, or reducing hours because you refuse last-minute work.
• This protection is especially critical for parents, students, caregivers, and anyone juggling multiple jobs.

Limits on “Clopening” Shifts

“Clopening”—working a late-night closing shift followed by an early-morning opening shift—pushes workers to exhaustion. The Act directly targets this abusive practice.

• Employers must allow a mandatory rest period between closing and opening shifts.
• If you voluntarily agree to a clopening shift, you may be entitled to additional compensation.
• Employers who force or coerce clopening work can face penalties.

Fair Access to Additional Work Hours

Too many workers see employers hire new staff even while cutting the hours of long-time employees. The law puts an end to that.

• Employers must offer extra or open shifts to current employees first.
• They must distribute hours fairly, transparently, and without favoritism.
• Reducing or manipulating hours to punish workers is strictly prohibited.

Restrictions on On-Call Scheduling

On-call scheduling forces workers to keep time open without any guarantee of pay. Michigan’s law cracks down on this practice.

• Employers cannot require unpaid on-call availability.
• If you’re required to be available, compensation may be owed even if you aren’t called in.
• The law aims to stop “just-in-time” scheduling that destabilizes families and finances.

Protection Against Retaliation

These rights don’t mean much unless they’re enforceable. That’s why the Act includes strong anti-retaliation protections.

Your employer cannot:

• Cut your hours
• Change your shifts
• Issue write-ups
• Deny promotions
• Threaten termination
• Reassign you to undesirable hours or locations

What Employers Must Do to Comply

Provide Written Policies

Employers are required to give employees clear written explanations of:

• Scheduling practices
• Worker rights under the Fair Scheduling Act
• How schedule changes will be handled
• How predictability pay is calculated
• Procedures for requesting or declining shifts

These policies must be provided at hiring and kept readily accessible. When employers fail to document scheduling rules—or intentionally keep workers in the dark—it’s a red flag.

Maintain Accurate Records

Under the Act, employers must keep accurate, detailed records of:

• Posted schedules
• Schedule changes and who initiated them
• Predictability pay owed and paid
• Employee shift declines
• All scheduling-related communications

These records must be retained for a legally specified timeframe.

Train Managers and Supervisors

Most scheduling violations happen at the manager level. That’s why the Act requires employers to:

• Train supervisors on the law’s requirements
• Implement clear protocols for schedule posting and changes
• Ensure predictability pay is calculated correctly
• Prevent retaliation for exercising legal rights

If a manager violates the law—even unintentionally—the employer is still liable. Companies can’t hide behind “miscommunication.” It’s their job to get it right.

What to Do If Your Employer Violates Michigan’s Fair Scheduling Act

Document Everything

Start gathering evidence immediately. Save:

• Work schedules
• Screenshots of changes
• Texts or emails from managers
• Pay stubs
• Notes about retaliatory actions
• Photos of posted schedules

Documentation is one of the most powerful tools you have—and one of the first things employers try to deny.

Track Lost Hours or Increased Costs

Unpredictable schedules cost workers real money. Keep notes on:

• Hours you lost due to cancellations
• Extra childcare you had to arrange
• Missed transportation or added travel expenses
• Unpaid on-call time
• Any financial losses caused by schedule instability

These details help prove damages and increase your compensation.

Avoid Quitting Without Legal Advice

Quitting may feel like the only way out—but employers often rely on workers resigning so they can avoid accountability.

Before you make any move:

Talk to a lawyer.
Quitting can affect compensation, unemployment eligibility, and legal leverage. Marko Law can help you navigate your options safely.

File a Complaint or Seek Legal Representation

When your rights are violated, don’t wait. Scheduling abuses tend to escalate—and so does retaliation.

At Marko Law:

• We evaluate scheduling claims quickly and confidentially
• We help preserve evidence before it disappears
• We identify all applicable laws to maximize your compensation
• We act fast if your employer is cutting hours, manipulating schedules, or retaliating

If something feels wrong, it probably is. And the sooner you reach out, the stronger your case will be.

Your Schedule Shouldn’t Control Your Life—Take Back Your Power

Unfair scheduling doesn’t just disrupt your calendar—it disrupts your entire life. Michigan’s Fair Scheduling Act was created to protect workers from instability, retaliation, and abuse of power. If your employer is cutting your hours, calling you in last-minute, forcing clopening shifts, or punishing you for speaking up, you have rights—and Marko Law is ready to fight for you.

Your time matters. Your stability matters. Your dignity matters.

No employer has the right to destabilize your life or punish you for demanding fairness. At Marko Law, we stand with Michigan workers who’ve been pushed around, intimidated, or silenced. We know how to hold employers accountable—and we don’t back down.

Contact Marko Law for a Free Case Evaluation

📞 Phone: +1-313-777-7777
📍 Main Office: 220 W. Congress, 4th Floor, Detroit, MI 48226
🌐 Website: https://www.markolaw.com/