ICYMI: As Cost of Living Rises, Warren Highlights Harmful Effect of Unpredictable “On Call” Work for Older Workers

ICYMI: As Cost of Living Rises, Warren Highlights Harmful Effect of Unpredictable "On Call" Work for Older Workers

Senator Warren plans to reintroduce the Schedules That Work Act, which would help ensure that employees have more certainty about their work schedules.

Senator Rick Scott (R-Fl.): "I think you got a legitimate point."

Video of Exchange (YouTube)

Washington, D.C. - At a hearing of the Senate Committee on Aging, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) highlighted how "just-in-time" scheduling practices-which leave workers with last-minute shift assignments and inflexible schedules-have a particularly negative effect on older workers in part-time jobs. As prices increase and wages decline, retirement has grown further out of reach, forcing more older Americans to stay in the workforce. In fact, older workers are the fastest-growing demographic of the workforce.

Ms. Nancy LeaMond, Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer for AARP, testified that flexibility is crucial for all workers, many of whom juggle working with caregiving duties and medical appointments. She noted that last-minute schedule changes are especially difficult for workers with extensive caretaking obligations or those undergoing medical treatments-both of which are true for many older Americans. These inflexible scheduling practices mean that older Americans are often forced to skip work-and miss out on a paycheck-or skip potentially life-saving medical appointments and caretaking responsibilities.

Senator Warren plans to reintroduce her Schedules That Work Act, which would help ensure that employees have more certainty about their work schedules and income and address unstable, unpredictable, and rigid scheduling practices, like placing workers "on-call" with no guarantee of work hours, scheduling them for "split shifts" of non-consecutive hours, sending workers home early without pay when demand is low, and punishing workers who request schedule changes.

Senator Warren called on the Aging Committee to work with her on this legislation as a solution to work schedule instability to provide greater certainty and stability to hourly and low-wage workers. Senator Rick Scott (R-Fl.) agreed with Senator Warren, stating, "I think you got a legitimate point."

Transcript: Hearing to examine protecting older Americans, focusing on leveling the playing field for older workers.
U.S. Senate Committee On Aging
September 3, 2025

Senator Elizabeth Warren: So, older workers are the fastest-growing share of the workforce. And one big reason for that is because it's gotten a whole lot harder for Americans to retire because high costs and low wages squeeze families. So, here we are in the richest country in the world, where, I think, workers ought to be able to work for fair pay and fair conditions and then retire with security. But many workers post-retirement are back in the workforce in part-time jobs, and one of the things they encounter there are what are called "just-in-time" scheduling practices. This is when employers give workers their schedules at the very last minute, sometimes as little as a day or two before their schedules shift. And while that might be "just-in-time" working for an AI algorithm looking at the latest foot traffic, for example, in a grocery store. It is great for the algorithm but not so great for the workers. So do you go to the doctor's appointment, you know, or do you skip the shift and not get paid? Will you be able to pay your electric bill if your shift this week gets canceled? Older workers are more likely to be part-time where "just-in-time" scheduling practices are far more common.

So, Ms. LeaMond, you're the chief advocacy and engagement officer at AARP. Why are last-minute schedule changes particularly difficult for older workers?

Nancy LeaMond, Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer, AARP: Well, Senator, I think last-minute schedule changes are difficult for all workers. And I will say, I think you all know AARP has offices in every state, so I oversee a staff of 700 multigenerational workers, and my experience has been on all issues related to flexibility. It is just as much a concern of younger workers as it is older workers. I would say older workers may be juggling a few more caregiving duties and medical appointments. Mothers and fathers in their 40s and 50s are the sandwich generation dealing with children and those responsibilities, along with caregiving. And our younger staff, I find, are the busiest, because many of them are in school at night and juggling lots of other duties. So, I think flexibility is something that doesn't just affect older workers but all workers.

You've raised something important, though, which is, when we've talked a lot about workforce flexibility, it's been framed in terms of working at home or working in the office. And really, what I find most of the discussion to be about is not so much that, but work hours. Can it be flexible so maybe I can drop my kids off at school in the morning and then work a little later? Can I adjust my hours in some other ways? And I think employers that are committed to multi-generational workforces are beginning to adapt and understand how important flexibility is. I think we all benefit from knowing our schedule in advance. I was joking with the team that I think we all appreciated being invited last week to testify rather than last night, and those are the kinds of things I think we can all benefit from.

Senator Warren: Yeah. Can you just say a word about what happens to workers when last-minute work schedule changes conflict with their obligations outside work? I've kind of given them my own summary, but you're the expert, you're running a staff of 700.

Ms. LeaMond: Well, when schedules change, one of two things happens: you will either have to arrange something in your personal life, often with some cost, or you'll miss something at work, and that, depending on your employer, can be a matter for discussion or a matter for serious confrontation. And I think it really depends, and it's incumbent on all of us, I think, to talk much more about what are the labor force's needs. We are going to have to engage more older workers in jobs across this country, and what does that mean, and what does that mean, also, for our multi-generational workforces?

Senator Warren: So, it seems to me that we need some guidance around this. As you say, some employers are changing, but many are not. And so the question becomes, what is the right way? What should be the workplace rules? I've got a bill called Schedules That Work, and it would give employees just, just a couple of rights. One is the right to request a schedule that works for them without getting fired for making the request. I know that seems like common sense, but for a lot of people, that's not happening for them in the workforce. And the second thing is to say, if schedules are going to be changed at the last minute, then there needs to be some compensation for the worker. You can't hold people in effect on call. That is,"You're going to come in next Thursday," you agree you're coming in next Thursday, you will be there next Thursday, and then on Thursday morning, you get a call that says, "Don't come in," and don't get paid for the day. If you held your Thursday open, then there needs to be some compensation in return for that. And I think your point is right, Ms. LeaMond, that it would be helpful for workers of all ages, but it is particularly helpful for workers who are part-time workers, particularly because they face this so much more than full-time workers do, and particularly helpful for workers who have obligations outside the workforce. So, I'm going to continue to work on this. I'm going to encourage other members of the Aging Committee to take a look at it, just to try to get some guidelines in place that will be helpful for all of our workers, but I think will have a special benefit for our older workers. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Senator Rick Scott: Senator Warren, let me, just as a businessperson, let me just tell you the issue that we're dealing with. Because I agree with you, I mean that we all want to know our schedules, right? I mean, but if you think about it, from the standpoint of the employer, here's what goes on. Let's say, let's say you take a restaurant, everybody gets their reservations through OpenTable, and you find that day that your reservations are down 50%, right? And so you say, "Well, how many people should I have come in?" So you say, "Well, I don't need as many workers today." And so, is it good for the worker? No, right. But if you tell the worker to come in, then the employer probably, you know, it costs them money, right? So can they keep that restaurant open if they didn't have something? So I think in almost every industry, what my experience in the businesses I was in is, you know, I always-everybody always joked, you know, this would be a great job, except for the customers. The customer dictates all this and how many people are going to show up that day in so many businesses, not all businesses. It's pretty, it's more, you know, it's more stable. But there's a lot of them that the revenue that you'll get that day is completely dependent on who's going to show up. Sometimes you have a good idea, and sometimes, you know, my first business was a donut shop, and I could tell you my revenues were 100% tied to the weather. And so-but I think you got a legitimate point, because it's frustrating to somebody if they think they're going to get paid and they're not, and they save their time, and then they lose that income.

Senator Warren: You know, I would just say in response, because I appreciate the point you make. The question is not the customers. I get it. Customers can come or not come, and that's going to change how many workers are needed at any given time. The question is, who bears the burden of that risk and the idea that the employer says, "I want you to be available. I want you to block out your Thursday no matter what." And you don't take a class that meets on Thursday. You don't agree to take care of your grandchildren on Thursday. Pay the caregiver who's going to show up and watch your husband, who can't be left alone. That the employee takes on all of that cost and risk, and the employer takes on none of it in many industries. And I think that's the part we're trying to figure out is, who should be responsible for that? And I think employees need a little more help on their side and some rules that give some guidance around it.

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