• You can find more information regarding the Ordinance on the city's website. You can also call (510) 981-2489 or email Rules4work@cityofberkeley.info.

Employers Covered Under the Ordinance

A covered employer under the Ordinance is an employer who regularly employs 10 or more employees working in the city.1

Employees Eligible for the Benefit

The Ordinance requires you to consider requests for flexible or predictable working arrangements from any employee who:

• Is employed within the geographic boundaries of the city;
• Has worked for you for three months or more; and
• Works at least eight hours per week on a regular basis.2

The Ordinance does not apply to:

• Employees working in public safety or public health functions if the Department approves an employer’s request for exemption based upon operational requirements;3 or
• Employees covered by a bona fide collective bargaining agreement (CBA) if the requirements of the Ordinance are expressly waived in the CBA in clear and unambiguous terms.4

Employee Requests for Flexible or Predictable Working Arrangements

Employees who meet the Ordinance’s eligibility requirements may request a flexible or predictable working arrangement.5

A “flexible working arrangement” means a change in an employee’s terms and conditions of employment that provides flexibility. Employees may request changes such as:6

• Modified work schedules
• Changes in start/end times for work
• Part-time employment
• Job-sharing arrangements
• Working from home
• Telecommuting
• Reduction or change in work duties
• Part-year employment

A “predictable working arrangement” means a change to an employee’s terms and conditions of employment that provides a consistent or reliable pattern of work assignment. A predictable working arrangement may include seven calendar days’ notice of days scheduled to work, start and end times, and work site location.7

How Employees Make Requests

An employee making a request under the Ordinance must do so in writing. The written request must state:8

• The arrangement applied for;
• The effective date requested by the employee; and
• The duration of the arrangement.

An employee can make up to two requests within any 12-month period. If an employee experiences a “major life event,” the employee can make an additional request, which you must consider.9

Major life events include the birth of a child, placement of a child with the employee through adoption or foster care, or an increase in the employee’s care-giving duties for a person with a “serious health condition” who is in a “family relationship” with the employee (the Ordinance does not define the terms serious health condition or family relationship).10

Responding to Requests

You must follow strict timelines when an employee requests a flexible or predictable working arrangement:

• You must meet with the employee within 21 calendar days of receiving the request; and
• You must consider and respond to the request within 21 calendar days of your meeting with the employee (this deadline may be extended if the employee agrees in writing).

You may grant or deny the request. If you grant a request, you must confirm the arrangement with the employee in writing. If you deny a request, you must explain the denial in a written response that explains a business reason for the denial.11

You may revoke or modify a previously granted flexible or predictable working arrangement for business reasons. If you do, you must give the employee reasonable notice of the change in the work schedule. You must also provide the employee with written notice of the business reason within 21 days of modifying or cancelling the arrangement.12

Posting and Recordkeeping Requirements

You must post a notice, published by the Department, to inform employees of their rights under the Ordinance. The notice must be posted in a conspicuous place at any workplace or job site. You must post this notice in English, Spanish, Chinese and any language spoken by at least 5 percent of the employees at the workplace or job site. For employees who do not have a regular location where they perform work, you must provide a copy of the notice when the employee is hired or assigned to complete work in the city of Berkeley, but before the employee begins working in the city of Berkeley.13

• Berkeley Labor Law Poster

You must maintain documentation of all written responses to employee requests for flexible or predictable working arrangements for a period of three years from the date the written response was issued. You must allow the Department to access the records to monitor compliance.14

Enforcement

Employees may file a complaint with the city for an employer’s failure to respond to a request under the Ordinance or for alleged retaliation against the employee. The Department can investigate potential violations of the Ordinance and issue administrative penalties.15

The Department’s review of potential violations is limited to an employer’s adherence to the Ordinance’s procedural, posting and documentation requirements, and the validity of retaliation claims. The Department’s finding of a violation may not be based on the validity of the employer’s business reason for denying an employee’s request for a flexible or predictable working arrangement.16

If the Department determines that a violation occurred, it may issue an administrative fine. Fine amounts are established by the City Council.17

An employee can also file a civil action against an employer for willful violations of the Ordinance. Employees may be awarded appropriate relief and attorney’s fees and costs.18

Retaliation

Employees are protected against retaliation for exercising their rights under the Ordinance, including requesting a flexible or predictable working arrangement, filing a complaint with the city alleging a violation of the Ordinance, cooperating in an investigation, or informing others about their rights under the Ordinance.19

1. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.101.030D, F

2. Berkeley Mun. Code secs. 13.101.030(D), 13.101.040A

3. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.101.100

4. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.101.110

5. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.101.040

6. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.101.030G

7. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.101.030I

8. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.101.040B

9. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.101.040C

10. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.101.030H

11. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.101.050A-C

12. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.101.050D

13. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.101.070

14. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.101.080

15. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.101.090

16. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.101.090C

17. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 1.28.040

18. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.101.090D

19. Berkeley Mun. Code sec. 13.101.060