Work Hour Reductions
As per the Department of Labor of the US Government, employers have the right to reduce the working hours of their employees. The reason should obviously be nondiscriminatory in nature, otherwise you can sue your employer. As per the law, your employer is also not obliged to give you any prior notice regarding the change in schedule. However, the law is only valid for adults. The law doesn’t give employers the right to increase the working hours of an under 16 employee. It will be a direct violation to the child labor laws, and they can fall in legal trouble.
Wage Laws: Although giving a notice is not compulsory, but employers should pay the minimum wage to all the employees. They also have to comply with the regulations regarding overtime payment. If you have signed a wage agreement with your employer at the time of employment, then he or she is bound to follow that.
State Laws: In many states, if employers doesn’t give notice, then they will have to suffer. In California for example, there is a system called “reporting time pay”. When any employee comes to work and finds out that his or her working hours have been reduced, then he or she is entitled to this payment. However, this payment is only valid, if your working hours have been reduced by half or more. For example, lets say that you worked for 8 hours every day. But your employer has reduced your working hours to just 3 hours every day. Since your working hours have been reduced by more than half, you are entitled to receive the payment. However, this ” reporting time pay” is not valid in some cases. If your employee gives notice beforehand, then you won’t get it. It is also not valid in case of natural disasters or if you show up to work under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
In Connecticut also, employers will have to pay a fixed amount of wage if they doesn’t send notice to their employees. Apart from that, some states like Pennsylvania has made it compulsory to give prior notice.
Labor laws can be very complex. For a person with a non legal background, it can be very difficult to understand these laws. They also change very frequently. Hence, it is advisable that you consult a legal expert to get a grasp of these laws. United Employees Law Group can help you out in this regard.
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