It must be conceded that the difficulty of regulating hours in restaurants is much greater than in mercantile establishments. Restaurants must be open for a longer period each day than any store needs to be or is likely to be. But the difficulties are not insuperable. By working the employees in shifts of nine consecutive hours a day and six days a week, and by replacing women by men for night duty, the most undesirable features of restaurant work would be abolished. Such a plan has already been tried successfully in a number of New York restaurants, proving that it is possible and feasible to regulate hours.
To limit by law the hours of labor for women employed in restaurants cannot be considered a new or revolutionary step. New York is already far behind the majority of other states in this respect. At the present time, twenty-seven states regulate the number of hours that women may work in restaurants, five having the eight-hour day.[13] Clearly, therefore, the establishment of a normal working day for this class of workers is not only reasonable, but, in the opinion of the greater number of states, it is essential to the best welfare of their people as a whole.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LEGISLATIVE AMENDMENT.
In view of the evidence brought to bear upon the subject, The Consumers’ League wishes to urge the inclusion of women restaurant workers under the Mercantile Law, the general provisions of which are:
(1) That the working day shall not exceed nine (9) and the working week fifty-four (54) hours.
(2) That women shall not be employed between the hours of 10 p. m. and 7 a. m.
(3) That there shall be one day of rest in seven, and
(4) That there shall be a regular time off each day for meals.