Is it illegal to make a peer mentor who works in a locked mental facility take the patients on several long walks every day in extremely hot weather?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Is it illegal to make a peer mentor who works in a locked mental facility take the patients on several long walks every day in extremely hot weather?
This question is regarding someone i know who i believe is being treated unfairly at work but i am not sure if it is illegal or not since the treatment is not based on gender, race, spiritual beliefs, etc. Before she started working here they used to rotate the schedule so everyone would have to go on the walks at different times but now they just make her do it every time while everyone else sits around eating and talking on the phone. She is more worried about the patients getting a sun stroke or something but i am worried about her as well.
Asked on August 13, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
It is most likely not illegal. Nothing requires employers to distribute work fairly, or prevents the employer from favoring some employees other others. The exception would be if the difference in treatment is due to illegal discrimination, such as against your friend because she is a woman, or because of her race, her religion, because she is over 40 (if she is), or because she is disabled (if she is). If she is treated worse due to a characteristiclike these, she should speak to your state equal or civil rights agency, or the federal EEOC, to see if she has a claim; otherwise, though, the employer may make her take the patients for walks. Based on what you write, it appears that she would not have a claim, since you say it is not based on gender, race, spiritual beliefs, etc.
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.