I work M - F from 7:30-4 pm (8 Hours + 30 min lunch). My supervisor will email me asking me if I can work 1 hour OT each day that week. Of course, I always say yes. My supervisor emailed our department Friday afternoon and stated that we had a mandatory 5am-11am shift the following day (Saturday).
I tried to negotiate as I had important plans and asked if I could work 5-9 instead. She practically threatened to fire me and told me that "mandatory" means disciplinary action if not followed. She said I could leave early this one time, but in the future any personal plans need to be changed to accommodate the business needs.
Can she legally fire me for not being able to work last min OT like that?
My employer is at-will.
I know this will be hard to believe, but an employer need not give you any advance notice of the need for you to work overtime, and you can be disciplined for refusing to work overtime, unless you are of a particular kind of job and your hours exceed 72 hours in a week.
Your response as an at will employee is to agree to the terms required by your employer or quit and find another employer. That is the reality of the at will employment relationship.
Good luck to you.
Yes, this is legal UNLESS the reason you cannot work at that time is due to religious needs or related to a reasonable accommodation for a physical or mental disability. The harsh reality is employees and job applicants have very few employment rights, and employers have a lot of leeway in how they choose to run their businesses. In general, an employer can be unfair, obnoxious or bad at management. And an employer can make decisions based on faulty or inaccurate information. An employer has no obligation to warn an employee that he or she is not performing as the employer wants. It’s not a level playing field. An employer hires employees to provide work for its benefit, not for the benefit of the employees. Don't expect the employer to take care of its employees; it doesn’t have to and it rarely does.
There are some limitations on what an employer can do, mostly in the areas of public policy (such as discrimination law or whistle blowing), contract law, union-employer labor relations, and constitutional due process for government employees. Please see my guide to at-will employment in California which should help you understand employment rights: http://www.attorneyqna.com/legal-guides/ugc/an-overview-of-at-will-employment-all-states. After you take a look at the guide, you may be able to identify actions or behavior that fits one of the categories that allows for legal action. If so, an experienced plaintiffs employment attorney may be helpful.
Employment rights come from the state and federal legislatures. One of the best things people can do to improve their employment rights is vote for candidates with a good record on pro-employee, anti-corporate legislation. Another way to protect employment rights is to form or affiliate with a union, or participate in a union already in place.
I hope you can resolve your situation and wish you the best.
