work scheduling

I am a single, divorced mother of two children.I started a new job in June of 2000, with the verbal assurance from the manager and my potential direct supervisor that my scheduling needs, because of child care, would not be a problem and could be accomodated.My requested schedule works so that i work when my ex-husband is off duty and he works when i am off duty, so that one of us is always with the children. we both work at night, generally 7pm to 7am. Furthermore , my supervisor left a note in my mailbox two days ago that stated i had to start working 4 days a week, and that they could no longer accomodate my child care schedule. I was hired for 30 hours per week and have been working 36 to 40 hours a week since my hire, doing extra when needed as nights has been difficult for them to cover.Can they A.) tell me that i have to work more than what i was hired for? B.) completely ignore the verbal agreement they gave me that they could accomodate my requested schedule due to child care needs?C.) what are my rights as far as requesting a certain schedule because of child care needs?

Unless you have an employment contract or are a member of a union, and even then, management has the right to run its business anyway they please so long as they do not break any laws. Unfortunately, in this Country, children come last. The company hired you, not your children. They can change your schedule any way they please for their benefit and there really is nothing you can do about it, unless it involves serious safety considerations, other than to find another job. You did not get their promise of "accommodation for child care" in writing and therefore you don't have anything to fall back on.