Certain industries force companies to have a specific number of workers present or available. Medical facilities, for example, need to have a minimum number of employees on hand for the protection of patients. Airlines typically need to have a certain number of people on any given flight crew given the size of the plane.
Businesses need to schedule their workers carefully when such standards apply. They may also need to arrange to have workers on call, which means having employees on standby in case someone calls in sick. Workers in a variety of professional positions may be subject to on-call shifts.
Their employer requires that they be available to come in and must be reachable by phone or other forms of electronic communication. Can employers demand that workers compromise their time off by being on-call without pay?
California has wage rules for on-call shifts
Requiring that a worker be on-call can prevent that employee from making full use of their time away from work. They can’t leave the city where they live or turn off their phone to enjoy quiet time with their families. They can’t even have a beer or glass of wine with their dinner. They need to be available instantaneously at the demand of their employer.
It is very easy for companies to abuse on-call scheduling by forcing workers to be available whenever they are not actually at work. California wage laws specifically address on-call or standby requirements. If an employer requires that an employee is available for immediate communication and to come in for an unscheduled shift, that worker has a right to compensation for that time.
Companies do not have to pay an employee their standard hourly wage for on-call shifts. However, the worker does have a right to at least minimum wage for the time when they are on call. Some businesses are proactive about complying with such regulations. It is standard policy at most airlines, for example, to pay pilots for their on-call shifts.
Other employers may try to skirt the law and may count on employees not knowing their rights to get away with that misconduct. When a company demands that workers be available for immediate communication and to pick up a shift with little warning, they need to compensate those workers for that time.
In scenarios where companies have not followed the rules for on-call or standby shifts, workers may have grounds to pursue wage and hour claims. They may even be able to pursue a class action wage and hour lawsuit by cooperating with coworkers subject to the same policies.
Holding employers accountable for business practices that violate state law can potentially allow workers to be reimbursed for uncompensated time they’ve had to devote to their jobs. Workers who know their rights are in a better position to demand appropriate compensation for the various types of work their employers require.