I'm told not to clock-in at my scheduled time, not allowed to leave work premises, is this legal?

In the state of CT is it legal for an employer to schedule you at say 5pm, and not allow you to clock-in until 7:30p? Won't allow you to leave the work premises, or even give a rough idea when you will be needed? Though she did offer me a free meal as compensation, but, this has happened two days in a row, and she plans on doing this every time she doesn't need me because of the restaurants lack of business. Is what she's doing against the Fair Labor Standards Act? If so, what would you suggest doing about it?

rwa000

as long as you are not working it is legal, it is the same as being on call, find another job

john c

In today's economy, this is more about practicality than legality. You may want to give this a few days before assuming it is permanent. Depending on how much you are willing to buy into this, even on a very short term basis, I see two options while canvassing for alternate employment. You can either accept the meal and bring appropriate study material, or you can request to "shadow" in another area in order to broaden your exposure.

If she didn't give you an explanation before or offer an apologetic thank you afterward, outside intervention will only produce resentment, not a revelation. Good Luck.

gail

No its not legal.
If you are being requested to start at 5 that is when you should clock in and expect to be paid from. Its ok doing it as a favour but to expect you to do it on a regular basis is exploitation and its not your fault the restaurant is not busy.
It is not the same as being on call as you are on the premises and being told that you can't leave.
Being on call has a financial allowance made in yearly salaries so doesn't compare.
Your boss needs to redo her schedule or shut the restaurant until the time she is prepared to pay you from. A meal is not fair payment.

Judy

No, it's not legal, and yes, it's against the FLSA. If you have to be there, you must legally be paid.

What to do? You could call the state or federal labor department and report this. The problem is, it's fairly likely you'll end up fired a little while down the line.

The other thing to do is look for another job.

Good luck.

Lori

It is illegal to require you to start work at 5pm but not clock in until 7pm. That you can report to your State Department: http://www.ctdol.state.ct.us/wgwkstnd/wgemenu.htm

It is legal for employers to tell you not to leave work and remain on the premises while you are on the clock. However, she can not tell you that you can not leave the premises if you are not on the clock. If you are scheduled to work at 5pm that is when you clock in, if business is slow and their is nothing for you to do you either remain on the clock, at which you can be required to remain at work, or if you clock out you can legally leave. She can not have you waiting around and clocking in and out only when there is work for you to do.

I would report her to your state, and I would find a different job.

Best of luck!

HR Manager

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