Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Can employers force people to leave a scheduled shift without prior notice or go

I am a college student and I work at a ticket office on campus. When things get slow, naturally, they cut hours. However, on top of that, the often send people home in the middle of their shift. I mean literally FORCE people to leave. At other places I have worked, I was told that a person can be asked to leave for over staffing purposes, but never can they be forced. I was under the impression that a posted schedule is like a contract and cannot be changed without advanced notice. People have lives outside work and shouldn't have to lose money that they thought was gauranteed by the hours they were scheduled. If I'm scheduled for 20 hours a week, I REALLY need all 20 of those hours and i would work somwhere else if I new I was only gonna end up with 12 hours a week some weeks, but there's no way to predict if they will send you home or not. Do I have any rights in this situation? If so, what are they?


Asked on 4/26/02, 10:08 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Thomas Pavone Pavone & Cohen

Re: Can employers force people to leave a scheduled shift without prior notice o

A posted schedule is not a contract. Unless the employer has a policy or has in some way agreed to guarantee specific hours (with one exception) - you are entitled only to hours worked. The exception relates to Report Pay, which in California provides that you are entitled to a minimum of one-half of your scheduled hours if you are sent home by the employer. Thus, if you are scheduled for 8 hours, you must be provided 4 hours of work or pay. If you are scheduled for 4 hours, you are entitlad to 2 hours work or pay. If however the reason for the short day is a power failure or other emergency beyond the control of the employer, the report pay requirements do not apply.

Read more
Answered on 4/29/02, 7:04 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Labor and Employment Law questions and answers in California