Can employers do this?

[EweSheep]

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Hubby is sucking it up LOLOL! What comes around is going to come again on them eventually. They are making big profits this year.

Been searching on some bad feedbacks or reports on this company but none found yet. Even under the OSHA investigations, this company by far, has been squeaky clean. That is just two websites, that I searched on.

 

[HarlansHollowFarms]

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An employer most certainly CANNOT do what ever they want! Working more than 40 hours per week requires time and a half pay (federal law). They can tell you they don't want you to talk Union - but they CANNOT fire you if you do. They cannot so drastically change / increase your work hours and make them mandatory unless you signed a contract allowing it to happen. IF they are not already a union plant then they would have to have signed individual contracts for each employee.

Contact the IL dept of Labor, contact OSHA and if you want contact an attorney.

Yes it is a federal law to pay overtime, but unless you have a union contract, an employer can change your hours at will. There is no law that says you have to sign a contract with your employer for any change in you work hours, unless you have a union contract.

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As I said, the are a few states that have enacted laws for workers, but not many. Also, getting someone to represent you in cases where the employer is violating these state laws can be very difficult unless there is alot of money involed. Meaning the cash payout needs to be high enough for an attorney to even look at the case. Most low and middle income positions will not be represented because the cash payout will not be enough....sad but true.

 

[birdsNbeesNseeds]

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Just an FYI - Until the OSHA investigation/inspections are closed, they won't show up on the OSHA web site. If citations haven't been issued yet or the company is fighting any citations then the case is still open and won't show up at all.

 

[redhen]

Another bit of info...
No they cant discriminate aganist you for religion..
BUT.. if their work week entails working Sundays,.... then you HAVE to work Sundays..or be fired. Its your CHOICE..
They do NOT HAVE to let you off on Sundays...

At least here in the state of Mass.. we are an "at will" state...

 

[debilorrah]

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Here in CA, if a person requests 2 hours off to attend church, the employer does HAVE to let you take time off. Not paid, of course....

 

[bkreugar]

Ewe sheep I can not give any help on the hours etc, BUT I have personal experience with OSHA. I am now a crossing guard and have been for about 3 years, but before that I worked for LOwe's home improvement from 95 - 05. I then left as conditons under that paticular store manager were not what I was willing to deal with. But I digress.

In 10 years I worked in several different depts in various capacities. At one point I worked in home decor. There had been reports of the carpet cutting machine " shocking" a few people in the dept. One day It shocked me and i was FURIOUS that they had done nothing till then with the OTHER complaints from other people. The shock was HUGE and painful and my heart leapt to about 300 it felt like.

So I went to the bathroom, and on the back of the door was the # to contact osha as my issue WAS safety. I called later that day at home and boy did we see results!!! The osha case worker called me back , gave me an overview of the process and told me ~I~ would be notified EACH step of the way. WHen I asked about the possibility of them figuring out that it was me, they stated that even QUESTIONING employees was forbidden. IF there was backlash or I was fired, OSHA would then represent me and they would go after lowes with fines etc.

SO they did write lowes of the complaint and they did discover that that the machine was not grounded properly. Lowes then had to pass in paperwork to osha showing proof it was fixed. I got copies of ALL of this, it was mailed to my house. Before Osha considered it closed the caseworker called and asked IF they had in fact fixed the problem. When I stated YES, then it was considered closed.

Until about 6 weeks later when Osha dropped by for an unannounced audit. My case worker said that for it to be bad enough for an emplyee to call the hotline, they ALWAYS find other issues. I faced NO consequences it was ALL anonymous, and was never even questioned by the management.

So I would say I had a fantastic expereince with Osha and IF anything in his work envioronment is an osha concern they would be a great annonymous help to you. I don;t know anyone else who has ever called for anything but I was very impressed with the process and the follow thru. I hope that can help you in some small way!

 

[PineappleMama]

I donno about the hours and such, clearly... but on the shipping boxes purposely missing parts... couldn't they contact CAT and let them know that that is happening? If the goal that CAT is working for is efficiency they may pass the word for them not to do that... doesn't help day to day very much at all... but maybe it would save some butt chewing?