Can an employer make a statutory employee work certain days and hours?
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Can an employer make a statutory employee work certain days and hours?
I work from home as a statutory employee, providing services for my employer in the regular course of their
business. I am considered full-time but they don’t provide insurance, paid vacation or sick days, and there’s no
such thing as overtime pay. They are telling me after 10 years that I now have to work Saturdays. Is it legal for
them to tell me I have to work extra days or hours?
Asked on December 15, 2018 under Employment Labor Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
There is no limit as to how many housrs or days in a row that an employee can be made to work. That is unless such a schedule violates the terms of any exisiting union agreement or employment contract. The fact is that a company can set the conditions of work much as it sees fit (absent some form of legally actionable discrimination). That having been said, if you are eligible for overtime pay (i.e. you are a "non-exempt" worker), then you must be paid at 1 1/2 times your regular hourly rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in your workweek.
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
Unless you have a written employment contract for a set period of time (e.g. a one-year, two-year, etc. contract), which contract is still in effect (e.g. unexpired), limiting or specifying your work hours or days, your employer may hae you work extra days or hours. In the absence of a contract, your work days or hours is 100% under the employer's control.
That said, if you are not exempt from overtime, you need to be paid for all hours worked, and overtime when working more than 40 hours in a week. You can find the criteria for exemption on the U.S. Dept. of Labor website; compare to your job to see if you meet at least one of the exemptions. If you do not--if you are not exempt--you may have a wage-and-hour or overtime claim and should contact the department of labor (state or federal).
They do not have to give you insurance, vacation, or sick days--those things are not required by law.
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