The good faith estimate is the quietest part of Fair Workweek and the easiest to get wrong. It's a document you hand a new hire before their first shift — and a number your actual schedules get measured against for as long as they work for you.
A good faith estimate (GFE) is a written, fact-based prediction of the days, hours, times, and locations an employee can reasonably expect to work. It's not a guess and it's not a guarantee. Ordinances expect it to be grounded in something real — a forecast, a staffing model, or the hours a similarly situated employee actually worked. Most laws require it at hire, before the first shift, and require an update when the expectation changes materially.
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Expected hours | The average number of hours per week the employee can expect. |
| Days & times | The days of the week and the time windows the employee can expect to be scheduled. |
| On-call expectation | Whether the employee should expect on-call shifts, where ordinances allow them. |
| Work locations | The sites where the employee can expect to be scheduled. |
| Basis | That the estimate is made in good faith on forecasts, prior comparable hours, or other real data. |
The good faith estimate rides along with most Fair Workweek laws — but not all of them word it the same way.
| Jurisdiction | Good faith estimate |
|---|---|
| Oregon | Required at hire |
| Chicago, IL | Required at hire |
| Philadelphia, PA | Required at hire |
| Seattle, WA | Required at hire |
| Los Angeles, CA (city & county) | Required at hire |
| Berkeley / Emeryville / SF, CA | Required (initial estimate) |
| Evanston, IL | Required at hire |
| New York City, NY | Different mechanism |
New York City is the exception worth memorizing: fast food employers provide a regular schedule — an enforceable, recurring schedule — instead of a good faith estimate, and NYC retailers aren't required to provide an estimate at all. Exact contents and timing vary by ordinance; confirm against the governing law for each worksite.
Most teams treat the GFE as a one-time onboarding PDF and forget it. That's the mistake. The estimate only protects you if you can later show the actual schedule stayed close to it — which means the estimate has to live in the same system as the schedule, not in a folder.
| Capability | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Generate at hire | Produce the estimate from the staffing forecast or a comparable role, not free text, so it's defensible. |
| Version & retain | Keep every version with a date. When expectations change, issue an updated estimate rather than overwriting. |
| Compare to actuals | Track scheduled and worked hours against the estimate so a widening gap surfaces before a complaint does. |
| Audit trail | Be able to produce the estimate, its basis, and the actual hours on request — that package is your defense. |
The good faith estimate is one of four core Fair Workweek obligations. See the full picture — advance notice, predictability pay, and clopening rest — in the Fair Workweek guide, check estimate-requiring jurisdictions in the compliance grid, or open a state profile for the system implications.