Abercrombie & Fitch ends 'on-call' shift in all of its outlets in the U.S. starting September

Abercrombie & Fitch confirmed it would end on-call scheduling to its employees on September in response to New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's letter regarding the 'illegal' irregular work shift.

The American retailer company Abercrombie & Fitch will terminate on-call shifts on all of its outlets in the United States starting at its store in New York this September.

"Abercrombie & Fitch is pleased to confirm that we have decided that all of our brands will discontinue the use of call-in shift scheduling. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to work collaboratively with the New York Attorney General as we reviewed our processes," Abercrombie & Fitch representative told CNN Money.

In an online document published by The Wall Street Journal, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sent a letter in April requesting supplementary documents concerning on-call shift policy of some retail companies in New York.

The office received reports that retail industry employers require hourly employees to work on 'on-call shifts' which allows retail stores to schedule them with only a few hours notice via phone call or email.

Apart from Abercrombie & Fitch, other retail companies include Gap, J. Crew, L. Brands, Burlington Coat Factory, TJX Companies, Urban Outfitters, Target Corporation, Sears Holdings Corporation, Williams-Sonoma Inc., Crocs, Ann Inc. and JC Penney Company Inc.

Schneiderman notified the companies about the New York regulation that employees must receive four hours of minimum wage when they report for work. "[A]n employee who by request or permission of the employer reports for work on any day shall be paid for at least four hours, or the number of hours in the regularly scheduled shift, whichever is less, at the basic minimum hourly wage."

In view of this, CBS News reported four months ago that retail companies had adopted a new scheduling software to easily change the schedule of its workers depending on its needs.

In this case, employees who came on the job site to work that day whose service is not needed were not given any amount obliging them to appear in the work area the next day or a few hours later.

Schneiderman said workers found it difficult to meet their household responsibilities such as taking care of their elders and children. The unpredictable shift also conflicts with their classes in school, plus it brings a negative financial effect in the family.

The random schedule is a struggle for workers because it becomes harder for them to work for other jobs and they will not be able to find other options to recompense the lost pay.

The irregular work schedule became advantageous to companies cutting costs and easily changing its worker's timetable up to the last minute upon their needs while the minimum wage earner badly suffers the consequences.