Legal Question in Legal Ethics in California
At my job, I put in a leave form requesting a day off. At the bottom of the form, I wrote that if my plans changed, I would be in to work that day. My employer came to me and stated that I
had to decide and tell him before I left for the day if I would be in or not. If I submitted the
leave form I HAD to take the day off. Is this legal, can an employer tell an employee that
they had to take the day off if they requested it? Other employees in the same office,
have been allowed to do this in the past.
Thank you for your assistance.
2 Answers from Attorneys
It is not unreasonable for an employer to want to be able to determine his staffing situation in advance. Perhaps with the other employees they have been at that job longer so are given more leeway or the work is such that no one is needed to fill in when they are off.
You are working for someone who is paying you to work. They are allowed to make rules as long as they do not violate statutes, health and safety requirements, etc. If you were an employer would you not want to know who is coming to work when?
This question should have been rejected for posting in the wrong category. Legal ethics and responsibility is the category for people with issues regarding their lawyers, and possible legal malpractice. It is not the forum for posting labor and employment related questions.