Can an employer fire me for not coming to work on my scheduled day off?
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Can an employer fire me for not coming to work on my scheduled day off?
Asked on February 2, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, North Carolina
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
Yes, unfortunately it can. An employer can generally set the terms and conditions of an employment relationship; including having an employee work on the scheduled days off as well as work mandatory overtime. Unless a union/employment agreement that does not allow for such action, or this situation has arisen due to some type of discrimination (i.e., for reasons due to your race, religion, age, disability, sex, national origin), your employer's policy does not violate the law.
Note: The FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) requires that some employees be paid overtime when they work more than 40 hours a week. It divides employees into categories of salaried employees. These are the “salaried exempt,” who are not protected by overtime laws, and the “non-exempt,” who are entitled to overtime. Exempt employees are “executives” or administrators”and they are not entitled to overtime. Unless exempted from the overtime regulations, employees covered by the Act must receive overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek at a rate not less than time and one-half their regular rates of pay.
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