Is it legal for your employer to force you to stay later than your schedule says?

Answer 1

Yes, your employer may force or require you to stay or work overtime. There is no federal law or even state law that I know of that prohibits an employer from requiring an employee to stay longer in view of the demands for work.

What the law provides for however, is that if you are forced to stay later than your schedule, you have to be compensated for the overtime work you rendered at 1 1/2 times the rate of your regular pay per hour.

It may depend on your state, your occupation, and whether your union has addressed this issue.

Check out this news article.

New Jersey Law Bans Forced Overtime

Health care workers in the state of New Jersey have won a five-year court battle which bars hospitals and nursing homes from forcing employees to work overtime, except in the case of emergencies.

Union officials and nurses say the law will improve patient safety and prevent mistakes that can be made by people who have been on the job for up to 16 straight hours.

The law went into effect on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2004. New Jersey becomes the second state to bar forced overtime on health care workers. The other is Washington. West Virginia lawmakers recently passed a similar law that awaits Gov. Bob Wise's signature.

"Finally, states are beginning to put laws in place that will protect both the direct care providers and the patients. The USWA's Health Care Workers Council (HCWC) is looking forward to helping other states pass similar bills," said Maria Somma, the Steelworkers' HCWC International Organizing Coordinator.

The New Jersey law covers all hourly workers who provide patient care or clinical services, including nurses, nurses aides, pharmacists, therapists, technicians who do tests and similar workers, but not doctors.

The law covers hospitals, nursing homes and home health care. It includes penalties of up to $1,000 per day for each day it breaks the law. Whistleblowers cannot be fired or disciplined.

Nurses say the improved working conditions should draw personnel who had quit in frustration back to the bedsides, helping to reduce staff shortages.

http://www.uswa.org/uswa/program/content/1010.php

In many states yes, employers can require overtime, although there are often limits on the number of hours per day or total per week.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Believe it or not there is no federal law preventing an employer from forcing an employee to work overtime as long as that employee is paid overtime (time and a half) for any hours worked in excess of 40 per week. The rules may differ, however if you belong to a labor union and/or have a contract that stipulates otherwise.

Employees not belonging to a union or without contracts are known as "at will" employees. You'll find that there aren't too many laws designed to protect these types of employees. The basic idea behind at will employment is that the working relationship can be terminated by either party (employer/employee) at any time, with or without reason. So contrary to popular belief, an employer can fire an at will employee without giving a specific reason. As a result, unlawful termination suits are extremely difficult to win from an employee's perspective.

Your best bet is to check with your state's labor department regarding the specific laws in your area. Don't hold your breath, though.

Answer 2

In general, state laws will govern rules for the assignment, the notice, and payment of overtime, the amount and frequency of breaks for meals, etc [surf the web under your state + labor laws for specific info]. The short answer is most likely yes, as long as they are paying you. Most states have a 1 day in 6 rest law which allows for mandatory overtime as long as they give you 1 day off in 6 and 8 hours off in 24 (so they could give 16 hour shifts every day for 6 days). That example is fairly extreme, pretty much unheard of except maybe in mining or farming which have their own specific labor laws.

Answer 3

It depends on your contract of employment. Generally, your employer can make a request within a reasonable time frame but cannot enforce you to work beyond your contracted hours.