Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Boss wants blackberry to ring every 3hours all day and night. Is this legal?

I got the email below from my boss. She wants my blackberry to ring every 3 hours 24/7. This will deprive me of proper sleep. I already do OT and being on-call which was not properly represented when I got hired. I am a systems administrator and am on call 24/7. I do not get any OT or on-call pay. I am on call in support of production.

Bosses Email -

Hi J, it's for all after hours support. After hours support means after business hours. Our support scheduled is weekly, Monday through Sunday, as documented on the wiki. The specific incidences we talked about during our meeting happened to be weekend related. Since you're cell service isn't reliable in your area and email and blackberry service isn't up 100% of the time, then this logically applies to after hours support required during the week as well as the weekend.

A notification every 3 or 4 hours is not excessive by any means. We receive reboot notifications at between 11 p.m and 1 a.m. nightly and typically system issues, along with the notifications start to arise at 5:00 a.m, when Tampa starts their business day.

Providing after hours support is a requirement of the job.

Thanks


Asked on 7/17/07, 10:06 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Thomas Pavone Pavone & Cohen

Re: Boss wants blackberry to ring every 3hours all day and night. Is this legal?

I will need more facts to understand your current issue. If the management directive is that you must check in periodically, there may be a wage and hour impact. You mention that you don't receive OT or on call pay - this may or may not be lawful. It would be to your advantage to discuss your schedule and pay arrangements with an experienced employment attorney. Feel free to call me to discuss this further.

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Answered on 7/17/07, 12:57 pm
Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

Re: Boss wants blackberry to ring every 3hours all day and night. Is this legal?

If you are properly classed as salary exempt, you may be required to be on call without incurring OT. The Labor Commission has rules that apply, either way. However, a thorough review of all the facts and issues is necessary before jumping to any conclusions. Feel free to contact me if you want to do so.

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Answered on 7/17/07, 1:52 pm


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