Is it legal to rewrite a work schedule in the middle of that work week?

michr

it is legal and it happens in union shops as well.
the employer has an obligation to adjust schedules as needed to be profitable and meet customer/business demands. most contracts allow for a certain amount of flexibility in scheduling. if this happens a lot make an effort to speak with management and help develop a plan to prevent this as much as possible.

Judy

Sure it's legal, and not uncommon since business needs change. If business is good they might realize they need more people, or less if business is off or maybe the weather gets really bad.

The employees don't have to agree. If you want to work there, you follow the schedule that they set - including the changes.

majormomma

It is legal, but it's a crappy way of running a department. If your boss needs to make adjustments to the schedule because of employee absences or some other reason, then he should ask for volunteers to cover or switch. In turn, the employees should be cooperative as much as possible. Only as a last resort should he have to mandate that someone work the extra/alternative shifts. Remember that your boss has the responsibility to run the department and keep it staffed, so that's his first priority.

If your boss makes a habit of this and there doesn't seem to be an adequate reason, perhaps all of the employees can ask for a meeting with him to discuss the problem and work out some solutions. Be prepared to help him do a better job of scheduling. If he has too many roadblocks, he'll be forced to come up with a schedule that won't please anyone.

Your last option is to contact your HR department and complain. However, I recommend you resolve the problem at your supervisor's level.

Peggy I

Yes, the boss can do whatever they want, regarding scheduling, work hours and duties.

Unless you belong to a union, and then there are procedures that the company must go through to accomplish this. So if you don't like it, you will have to join a union.
.

Jeanbug

Yep, totally legal unless (as has been noted) you belong to a union. This used to happen to me quite a bit when I worked retail and our supervisors told us, "switch with someone if you don't like it." It's discourteous as heck, especially for those of us in school or having to scramble for last minute babysitters. If your bosses continue to do this ~ and it's conflicting with other obligations, then the only recourse you have is to quit.

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