What can I do if my manager keeps scheduling to work grueling shifts?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

What can I do if my manager keeps scheduling to work grueling shifts?

My general manager has been scheduling me to work 4 pm to 12 am then turn around and have to be in the next day at 8 am to 4 pm. I have told her those shifts are too much for me to handle and she promised she would avoid doing that. Then, 2 days later, she had me scheduled to do the same shifts. She knows I rely on the public bus for transportation and knows it quits running at 6 pm. She then was always scheduling me to work 10:30 am to 6:30 pm knowing I would struggle getting home. She promised after I said I’d have to quit and also went to a hire up manager about it, that she would no longer put me on past 4 pm for the rest of this month. Well a couple days later, like clock work, she scheduled me to work 7 days straight with the 5th and 6th day working 4 pm to 12 am and then 2 pm to 10 pm and then the 7th day coming in 8 am to 4 pm. I am about to have a mental breakdown I can’t do this bouncing around anymore. I don’t even enjoy being here; I cry all the time from the frustration and stress. I’m on anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medicine just to try and cope with the overwhelming bull that goes on here. What can I do? I know if I quit I cannot receive unemployment but I can not take much more. I am looking for other employment but it’s rough out there.

Asked on April 15, 2016 under Employment Labor Law, New York

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 7 years ago | Contributor

There really isn't anything you can do. The law puts no restrictions or upper limit on how much you can be scheduled to work. Your employer can schedule you to work 24/7/365 if they want--if you don't want or can't do that, all you can do is find other employment, and if your resign/quit, you  will be ineligible for unemployment.
They must pay you for all time worked, of course, if you are an hourly employee; and if you are hourly or a non-exempt salaried employee, they must pay you overtime for all hours worked past 40 in a workweek. If they are not, you could file a wage and hour complaint with the deparment of labor for all the unpaid back wages or overtime you are owed.


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.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption