On-Call Hours

[LegalEBlonde]

What is the name of your state? CA

What is the maximum number of on call hours that can be worked in one work week? On call tasks are limited to phone and computer correspondence along with other basic office duties.

 

[cbg]

Unless CA law is very much different than the other 49 states, there is no limit to the number of on-call hours you can be asked to handle in one week.

I'm assuming that you are not actually working all the hours you are on call.

 

[LegalEBlonde]

No. I don't work the whole time. This question is actually based on a pretty in depth situation. I work 7 days a week on call. M-F 6pm-8am and then 16 hours each on Saturday and Sunday which used to be 24 hours but we opened a call center in Costa Rica to offer some relief.

I am 33 weeks pregnant and I was just release from the hospital after being in pre-term labor. I was instructed to be on complete bedrest. I have notified my employer of this and now they are asking strange questions about the number of vacation and sick days that I have taken in the two years that I have worked with the company. That number is very limited for one, but I'm not exactly sure why they are asking me that now.

I just had the thought that maybe they are scrambling to try and cover their butts for short term disability purposes. If you have any insight as to what these questions may mean, or anything that I should know of, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[cbg]

Actually, those are entirely reasonable questions to be asking of someone who is going to be on medical leave for an extended period of time. If you have been with the company for two years and if the company has more than 50 employees within 75 miles of your location, you qualify for FMLA. FMLA is unpaid leave but an employee has the right to request or the employer has the right to require that unused sick or vacation time be applied to it, which would mean that for that portion of the leave you would receive full pay instead of the partial pay you get on disability..It doesn't sound like they're trying to cover their butts due to any impropriety; it sounds as if they're trying to get all their ducks in a row so that you receive everything that's due you.

 

[LegalEBlonde]

I hope that is the case. However, I was never really on a set vacation or sick day program. I never really took time off unless absolutely necessary because I knew in turn that if I really needed time they would give it to me since I worked EVERY day.

I sincerely hope they are planning with the best intentions. And thank you very much for your replies.