hired for 5day40hr now must work4day 10hr

[buddy b]

New York printing firm hired me to work 5days 40hr w/ OT @1.5 per hr after 40 hr, doubletime on Sundays... To save labor cost and OT costs, the firm imposed a 40hr 4day work week including Sat. and Sundays, with no extra compensation
for working weekends.. At first it seem that with rotating shifts with other workers, we were getting 3&4days off at a time. The problem with this is that on the weekend shift, I was working alone in a very big building with computers
and machinery... this didn't seem very safe if I had an injury with no help
available for assistance.
If my request to return to a 5 day work week is denied, can I be terminated
for refusal to work the 4 days, and be denied unemployment insurance.

 

[cbg]

Yes, if you refuse to work a 4 day work week, you can be terminated. My personal opinion is that this would not be a qualifying reason to collect unemployment, but if Commentator thinks otherwise, I will defer to her expertise.

Commentator?

 

[commentator]

Nope, you have no right to a 5 day workweek. And it seems that this whole hour changing situation was a result of the economic situation of the company as a whole, therefore it is not in any way a personally directed harrassment to you. So if you quit, it very likely would be seen as a personal choice, not a good job related reason to quit. If you refuse to work the 4 day shift, it could be seen as insubordination, and likewise could keep you from getting unemployment.

Now, that said, not having adquate staffing to work in the building, or having you working with dangerous equipment alone at night is something you could definitely get OSHA involved with as I believe it is a violation. You need to speak to your supervisor about it, informing them that you do not find it acceptable to be working with these presses alone. You can request that you not be asked to do it. They can respond by putting another person on the shift with you. Or to start with you can call OSHA and ask about it first.

Being terminated for refusing the hours=probably no unemployment. Being terminated for complaining about an unsafe job situation = unemployment more likely approved.

 

[Country Living]

When I first started my job, we worked four ten-hour days. I loved it! I saved on day care, gas, clothing expense (didn't need extra work clothes for that 5th day), and having that 5th day off gave me time to go to the doctor's, dentists, and other appointments I would have had to take off from work to do.

Then the company went from a four day workweek to a five day work week. There were a lot of unhappy employees. No one quit over it.

It sounds like the OP might be more unhappy about going to a four-day work week and losing overtime and is struggling to find any excuse to be treated differently. I'm stunned a large printing company would have only one person in the building if the presses are running. These companies have to follow OSHA regs.

If you're that unhappy, find a different job.

 

[ariastar]

I wish my fiance could work 4-day work weeks at 10 hours a day so we could have 3-day weekends together every single week....

 

[buddy b]

Thanks for the input, I was really concern about safety issue, I contacted OSHA and gave them a list of the equipment that I responsible to run . They are now investigating my claim... I hope the company would at least add one more person to the weekend staff.

 

[justalayman]

let us know how things turn out. I do not believe there is anything improper about the situation but would like to hear definitively one way or the other.