Labor Law Compliance

Learn how the Shifts platform helps you maintain compliance with labor laws through automated enforcement of work hour limits, rest periods, break requirements, and comprehensive reporting.

Overview

The Labor Law Compliance features in Shifts help you maintain organizational compliance with applicable labor regulations by automatically enforcing work hour limits, required rest periods, and break requirements. This article explains how to configure and use these compliance tools to reduce risk and ensure your scheduling practices adhere to labor standards.

Accessing Compliance Settings

1. Log in to your Shifts account as an administrator
2. Navigate to Admin Settings > Compliance Settings
3. From here, you can view and configure all compliance-related settings

Key Compliance Features

Work Hour Limits

The Shifts platform helps you enforce maximum working hours to prevent overtime violations:

• Daily Hour Limits: Set maximum hours an employee can work in a single day
• Weekly Hour Limits: Define maximum hours an employee can work per week
• Warning Thresholds: Configure alerts to trigger when employees approach hour limits (e.g., at 80% of maximum)
• Enforcement Options: Choose whether limits are strict (prevent assignments) or advisory (allow with warning)

Rest Period Management

Ensure employees have adequate rest between shifts:

• Minimum Rest Period: Set the required minimum hours between the end of one shift and the start of another
• Rest Period Enforcement: Enable automatic enforcement to prevent scheduling that violates rest requirements
• Rest Period Violations: Reduce recommendation scores for assignments that would violate rest periods
• Compliance Monitoring: Track rest period compliance across your workforce

Break Compliance

Track and enforce required breaks during shifts:

• Break Types: Configure different break types (meal breaks, rest breaks) with durations
• Required vs. Optional: Designate which breaks are legally required vs. optional
• Break Records: Track when breaks are taken, skipped, or shorter than required
• Compliance Status: Monitor break compliance across your organization

Scheduling Intelligence

The system incorporates compliance factors into scheduling recommendations:

• Recommendation Penalties: Assignments that would violate labor rules receive lower recommendation scores
• Compliance Warnings: Visual indicators when a schedule may create compliance issues
• Workload Distribution: Balance shifts fairly to prevent overwork of certain employees
• Role Requirements: Ensure proper staffing levels while maintaining compliance

Configuring Compliance Settings

Setting Work Hour Limits

1. Navigate to Admin Settings > Compliance Settings
2. Under Work Hour Limits, configure:
   • Maximum daily hours (e.g., 12 hours)
   • Maximum weekly hours (e.g., 40 hours)
   • Warning thresholds (percentage of maximum that triggers alerts)
   • Enforcement options (strict or advisory)
3. Click Save Changes

Configuring Rest Periods

1. In the Rest Period Settings section:
   • Set minimum hours between shifts (e.g., 8 hours)
   • Enable or disable automatic enforcement
   • Configure workload balance priority (Low, Medium, High)
2. Click Save Changes

Managing Break Types

1. Go to Admin Settings > Break Types
2. View existing break types or create new ones:
   • Name (e.g., “Meal Break”, “Rest Break”)
   • Duration in minutes
   • Required status (yes/no)
   • Description
3. For each break type, configure whether it’s legally required and its minimum duration

Compliance Monitoring

Compliance Dashboard

1. Navigate to Reports > Compliance Dashboard
2. View key compliance metrics:
   • Rest period violation rate
   • Break compliance percentage
   • Overtime hours
   • Employees approaching hour limits

Individual Compliance Records

1. Go to Employees > [Select Employee] > Compliance
2. View individual compliance history:
   • Rest period compliance
   • Break compliance
   • Weekly and daily hour totals
   • Historical compliance trends

Compliance Reporting

Export compliance data for record-keeping and audits:

1. Navigate to Reports > Compliance Reports
2. Select the type of report:
   • Rest period compliance
   • Break compliance
   • Hour limit compliance
   • Comprehensive compliance
3. Select date range and export format
4. Click Generate Report

Best Practices

For optimal compliance management:

1. Regular Audits: Schedule periodic reviews of compliance settings and reports
2. Early Warnings: Set warning thresholds lower than required limits to provide buffer time
3. Manager Training: Ensure all scheduling managers understand compliance requirements
4. Documentation: Maintain records of compliance settings changes and historical reports
5. Regional Settings: Configure settings appropriate to your jurisdiction’s specific requirements
6. Break Monitoring: Regularly review break compliance to identify patterns requiring attention
7. Update Settings: Review and update compliance settings whenever regulations change

Troubleshooting

• Unable to schedule employee: Check if assignment would violate rest period or hour limits
• Missing breaks: Verify break types are properly configured as required
• Compliance warnings: Address schedule conflicts before they become violations
• Regional variations: Configure location-specific settings if operating across multiple jurisdictions

Related Resources

• Overtime Management
• Rest Period Settings
• Attendance Records
• Break Management

This article should be updated when:

1. Labor law compliance features change
2. New compliance monitoring tools are added
3. Compliance reporting capabilities expand
4. Regional compliance feature support is enhanced