Workers often have to balance their personal lives with their professional obligations. Employers often behave as though workers do not have lives outside of their jobs despite them having families, hobbies and possibly school obligations.
Occasionally, employers can impose very burdensome requirements on individual employees. For example, the company may insist that workers need to be available to come in with minimal prior notice if the employer becomes very busy or another worker calls in sick for a shift.
Requiring standby or on-call availability is common in certain industries, including the medical and aviation sectors. Can employers require that workers be available without paying them for their time?
Standby scheduling requires payment
When a worker is subject to standby availability requirements, they cannot travel during their time off. They need to be able to come in to work with very little advance notice. They cannot engage in any activities that might prevent them from answering the phone. Having drinks with friends, going to see a movie or hiking at a local park can all prevent employees from answering a call and coming into work quickly when an employer requests their presence.
Needing to be available on a standby basis negatively affects an employee’s freedom. Thankfully, employees have the right to pay when scheduled for a standby shift. California law protects workers and their time.
On-call and standby responsibilities affect people’s social lives, their educational opportunities and their relaxation. They limit a worker’s ability to use their time as they see fit because of the company’s demands. If the company insists that a worker be available when they are not currently scheduled to work, the company must pay them for their availability.
Regardless of whether or not the worker comes in, they should receive at least minimum wage for the time that the company demands their standby availability. If an employer insists that workers be available on standby on their days off, then those workers have a right to wages for any time that they must be available to answer the phone and pick up a shift with limited notice.
Learning more about California’s unique employment laws can help employees get the wages and treatment they deserve from their employers. Workers may need help challenging company practices or requesting wages for time spent on standby at the demand of an employer.
