Abercrombie Is the Latest Retailer To Stop Scheduling On-Call Shifts

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Abercrombie is joining Victoria's Secret in pledging to stop scheduling employees in on-call shifts, Buzzfeed reports. It's a controversial way to staff stores that forces workers to arrange their schedules for shifts they might not end up working. Buzzfeed first reported on the practice in light of employee lawsuits over the way their shifts were scheduled.

Abercrombie shared its promise to stop call-in shifts in a letter to the New York state attorney general’s office, which asked major national retailers for more information on their use of on-call scheduling. The letter from Abercrombie states: "The company’s long term goal is to discontinue the use of call-in shifts throughout the United States, and we will begin that process in New York this September."

The brand plans to hand out schedules with required shifts to workers a week in advance, and then employees could opt in for email alerts that will notify them if there's an "unanticipated scheduling need." Those email alerts are going to replace on-call scheduling at Abercrombie, Hollister, and Abercrombie Kids stores. Employees will only get an alert if the shift matches their potential availability, and the alert doesn’t require the worker to show up to work.