Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Am i allowed to reduce an employee's hours from 40 to 30 for any reason?

A full-time employee is continually unable to perform his work duties for the full 40 hours each week, and goes home early most days. I would like to officially reduce his hours to 30 each week and see if this helps his performance. Is there any legal reason for me NOT to do this?


Asked on 4/06/16, 2:41 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Not unless you have a written contract that promises 40 hours a week. An employer can change the terms of an at-will employee's employment at any time for any reason, including increasing or decreasing hours or pay rate. The only limitations are there must not be an illegally discriminatory purpose behind the employer's action (you can't cut a person's pay because they are black, for an obvious example) and pay cannot be cut below minimum wage plus any applicable overtime, nor can it be cut retroactively for work already done. Other than that you are free to adjust the terms of employment any time you wish.

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Answered on 4/06/16, 7:20 pm


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