Is it legal for an employee to force on-call workers to fill shifts that didn’t have coverage in the first place instead of hiring the proper number of employee’s?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Is it legal for an employee to force on-call workers to fill shifts that didn’t have coverage in the first place instead of hiring the proper number of employee’s?
For almost 2 years now, there has not been enough people hired to fill all weekend shifts. Instead of hiring people to fill these spots the force the on-call and code help people to fill these shifts leaving no one to call if someone gets sick or hurt. When I say force, I mean that before Saturday has even come, the on-call and code help people’s names are already on the schedule for the upcoming g weekend. I can understand doing this for maybe a month because someone quit but as I stated this has been going on for close to 2 years.
Asked on July 14, 2015 under Employment Labor Law, Massachusetts
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
Unless there is a union or collective bargaining contract specifying staffing levels, the law does not specificy how many employees an employer needs or prevent them from using their on-call staff to consistently fill vacancies. So without a contract controlling this situation, this is legal--arguably stupid and bad business, but still legal.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.