Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Labor Laws

Is it legal for an employer to force a scheduled break into your work schedule? If yes, if the a situation occurs where you are occupied with an abundance of work and cannot take your scheduled break on time, is it legal for your employer to punish you in any way verbal/written?

Is it legal for your employer to also punish you verbal/written for going to the breakroom for employee provided coffee during your work hour?

Is it legal for your employer to consistantly run specified checks and detailed performance checks on you to look for any type of wrong doing or low performance level? It makes me feel like harassment, as if the manager is purposely and consistantly harassing me by checking my information every day moreover than any other employee and directively giving me unsupportive feedback regarding my performance which is meeting their standards?

Is it legal for an employer to constitutue a verbal/written punishment for scheduling a doctors appt for health hazards relative to serious health conditions?

Is it legal for me to request for some time of employer check on all labor law bases on my company due to suspicion of infringement worker's rights violations for a massive amount of employees?


Asked on 9/27/05, 10:14 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Patrick Turner Patrick E. Turner Inc. APLC

Re: Labor Laws

The short answer to your long question is that "yes," it is legal for an employer to micromanage its employees and to comment, either orally or in writing, on what it and it alone subjectively believes to be poor performance. The employer is required to give you breaks. When not on break, it is legal for the employer to expect you to be at your workstation. Continual and constant monitoring of your work, while perhaps not a good management technique, is legal. Not enough information is provided about your doctor's appointment to provide an evaluation. Finally, you can ask the employer to verify it is complying with labor laws, but that doesn't mean the employer is required to follow through with your request.

From a practical standpoint, it sounds like you aren't happy in your job or with the people you work for. Perhaps it's time to find another employer.

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Answered on 10/03/05, 6:12 pm


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