Can I sue or do they owe me money for time wasted?

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Can I sue or do they owe me money for time wasted?

I was hired by a company. They haven’t put me to work to earn income. They keep telling me I’m still employed but work is slow. It’s 2 months later and still no work. Every week twice a week they tell me I’m still an employee. All of a sudden I was let go and no one told me. I was waiting to go work for a company I was

Asked on September 13, 2016 under Employment Labor Law, Ohio

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 7 years ago | Contributor

No, you can't sue or get compensation for "time wasted." Employment in this nation is "employment at will," unless and only to the extent that you have a written employment contract to  the contrary. When you don't have a written contract guarantying days/hours/shifts/etc. worked, or guarantying your weekly earnings, you employer is legally allowed to schedule you for as much or as little time as they want; since they may legally schedule you for few, or even no, hours, they are not liable for doing this, and you can't sue them for not scheduling you. As for "wasting your time"--employmment at will also means that *you* can take a second job, quit and look for other employment, etc. at any time, if you are disastisfied with your job, including with how much you are working. Therefore, the employer did not (legally speaking) "waste" your time--you chose to wait and see if they would schedule you, rather than seeking other employment.


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