I’m a working student currently in High School and I work part time at a restaurant during Friday and weekends and I don’t want to work on Sundays anymore but my employer is forcing me to work on Sundays can my employer do that?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
I’m a working student currently in High School and I work part time at a restaurant during Friday and weekends and I don’t want to work on Sundays anymore but my employer is forcing me to work on Sundays can my employer do that?
I’m a working student in High School and I work on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
and I don’t want to work on Sundays anymore but my employer won’t let me have an
off on Sundays can he/she do that?
Asked on February 27, 2016 under Employment Labor Law, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
Of course your employer can force you to work Sundays--your employer has full discretion to set work days & hours, and may do so purely for its own benefit, without any regard to what is convenient for its workers. Not to overstate the case, but there's a reason why your boss is called your "boss" and not your "partner"--he/she is in charge.
There are two exceptions:
1) You have a written employment contract specifying your days; the employer needs to follow the contract.
2) You request to not work Sundays as a "reasonable accommodation" to your religion. This means:
a) you have to be part of a religion that doesn't let you work either Sunday at all or at least during those hours (e.g. those hours are when church is);
b) you are credible that your request is a legitimate one, and not a ploy to get out of working Sundays;
c) you have to be able to do the job without working Sunday--which may not be possible if your position is specifically to work weekends, since you'd now be only able to work around 40% or so of the Friday night to Sunday shifts; employers do not need to retain people who can't do their jobs, and do NOT need to allow you to work shorter hours than they need;
d) and if you can do the job withot working Sunday, you'd have to make up the time during days/ hours determined by the employer--its choice, not yours. So maybe they could let you miss Sunday, but then have to work Wed. and Thursdays evenings to make up the time.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.