--- description: The controversial practice is falling out of favor at U.S. stores title: More Companies Are Ending On-Call Scheduling image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Retail](/tag/retail/) ## Retail Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # More Companies Are Ending On-Call Scheduling by [Victor Luckerson](/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 23, 2015 5:45 PM CUT by [Victor Luckerson](/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 23, 2015 5:45 PM CUT A [growing number](http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/crew-ends-call-scheduling-workers-us-stores-34676561 "undefined") of retailers are doing away with scheduling practices that wreak havoc on employees’ work-life balance. On-call scheduling, also known as “just-in-time” scheduling, is being phased out at J. Crew, Associated Press reports. The practice requires workers to be on-call for potential shifts with as little as 30 minutes advance notice. On-call scheduling is a boon for employers, who are getting increasingly sophisticated at measuring exactly the number of workers they need at a given moment to maximize efficiency. But the scheduling tactic makes it challenging for workers to organize childcare, go to school, or develop skills for new jobs. In April New York Attorney General Eric Schnedierman sent letters to 13 major retailers questioning their scheduling practices and noting that they may violate state labor laws. Schnedierman announced Friday that J. Crew would be ending on-call scheduling nationwide. Here are some other companies that have recently done away with on-call scheduling. * **Starbucks** – The coffee chain [ended](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/15/us/starbucks-to-revise-work-scheduling-policies.html "undefined") “irregular schedules” for its 130,000 baristas in 2014 following a New York Times profile about one worker’s struggles to juggle her work and her family. * **Abercrombie & Fitch** – The clothing store will [end](http://money.cnn.com/2015/08/07/news/abercrombie-fitch-on-call-workers/ "undefined") on-call scheduling for hourly workers throughout the United States. * **Urban Outfitters** – The trendy retailer is [curtailing](http://www.buzzfeed.com/sapna/urban-outfitters-will-end-erratic-scheduling-in-new-york "undefined") just-in-time scheduling in the state of New York. * **Gap** – The company is [eliminating](http://fortune.com/2015/08/27/gap-on-call-scheduling/ "undefined") on-call scheduling across all five of its brands: Athleta, Banana Republic, Gap, Intermix, and Old Navy. * **Bath & Body Works** – The beauty retailer [announced](http://fortune.com/2015/09/09/on-call-bath-body-works/ "undefined") in September that it would eliminate on-call scheduling. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4085258/on-call-scheduling-j-crew/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4085258/on-call-scheduling-j-crew/"},"headline":"More Companies Are Ending On-Call Scheduling","datePublished":"2015-10-23T17:45:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:02:45.186Z","description":"The controversial practice is falling out of favor at U.S. stores","url":"https://time.com/4085258/on-call-scheduling-j-crew/","keywords":["Retail","Starbucks"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Victor Luckerson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/victor-luckerson/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/retail/","name":"Retail"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4085258/on-call-scheduling-j-crew/","name":"More Companies Are Ending On-Call Scheduling"}}]}] ```