Are employers obligated to give schedules to employees?

[BTDL]

Although this issue is now over for me, I’m just curious to learn if something at a former job of mine was legal:

I used to work at a dog daycare center in New York state, in which all employees were given absolutely no schedule. Every night, the boss would send out an email sometime between 8PM and 10PM to say who was working the very next day and what time. There was no consistency for which days I worked, nor what times (some days I’d work morning shifts, other days afternoon shifts, other days evening shifts, etc. And the morning/afternoon/evening shifts did not even have consistent hours).

Two additional notes:
1. This job was on the books.
2. It was a small staff (less than 10 of us).

However, I must admit: if I told the boss in advance that I needed a particular day off, she would almost always honor my request.

With all that said, was this legal?

 

[adjusterjack]

Yes, it was legal, as long as you were paid at least minimum wage for the hours you worked.

 

[zddoodah]

all employees were given absolutely no schedule. Every night, the boss would send out an email sometime between 8PM and 10PM to say who was working the very next day and what time.

So...your statement that they were being "given absolutely no schedule" isn't really true. What you meant is that the schedule is posted very late. That's a very different thing.

was this legal?

Of course. Why would you think it might not be legal?

It's a terrible way to manage employees, but poor business management isn't illegal. If an employee doesn't like it, he/she is free to quit.

 

[Bali Hai Again]

We had a union contract where I worked. The contract stated that notice less than 7 days was a short term notice of schedule change and certain provisions applied (such as overtime pay or time off, etc.). This was a 24/7/365 operation. If I needed to make changes short term, it was always due to circumstances created by other employees in the bargaining unit, and NOT the normal way to manage. I suspect something similar with OP’s management in the dog daycare.

 

[BTDL]

Yes, it was legal, as long as you were paid at least minimum wage for the hours you worked.

Yes, I was paid more than minimum wage (very slightly more).

 

[BTDL]

Of course. Why would you think it might not be legal?

It's a terrible way to manage employees, but poor business management isn't illegal. If an employee doesn't like it, he/she is free to quit.

Why would I think it might not be legal?

It is - as far as I know - unheard of. Employers do have certain obligations towards employees (I don‘t claim to know them all). I recently spoke to one person who told me that system is not legal. Then, I asked Google AI, and it said that in New York, employers are required to give 72 hours notice to employees of their schedules. However, I realize that AI can be incorrect.

I never claimed it was not legal (nor did I deny). I was simply curious to ask here. And I do NOT think that was stupid of me.

 

[BTDL]

We had a union contract where I worked. The contract stated that notice less than 7 days was a short term notice of schedule change and certain provisions applied (such as overtime pay or time off, etc.). This was a 24/7/365 operation. If I needed to make changes short term, it was always due to circumstances created by other employees in the bargaining unit, and NOT the normal way to manage. I suspect something similar with OP’s management in the dog daycare.

No. I assure you there was no contract like that in this dog daycare center. On my first day of working there, I asked my boss about this unusual system. She assured me that a regular schedule would come very soon. But after months of working there, it never did.

 

[cbg]

I make up the schedules for my team. We have what are called " standards" - this is your schedule unless you're told otherwise. We have a group chat on Teams and at the end of every day I either post "standards tomorrow" or email them a single-day schedule. It works for us.

 

[zddoodah]

I want to emphasize that Google AI is garbage. It is beyond unreliable.

As I mentioned before, late delivery of a schedule to employees is bad business management. If you don't tell your employee that he's expected to show up until the last minute, then you can expect a high incidence of not showing up. The employer can either forgive the no show - because it was obviously the employer's fault - or take disciplinary action, up to and including firing. Nothing illegal about this (in the absence of a union relationship or employment contract). By not quitting, the employee accepts the poor business management. Of course, there may be isolated circumstances where this sort of practice is reasonable or even necessary, but dog daycare isn't one.

 

[AlmostThere]

Your employer is essentially putting you on call. This may be intentional (to keep you from taking a second job) or purely laziness on the employer's part, or anything in between.

Find another job, and when you leave this one, consider politely letting your employer know why you are leaving, but don't blame yourself. Example: I have loved my time at ABC Doggy Daycare, but this new job provides a set schedule. I wish you the best of luck.

 

[cbg]

I should qualify that all my team works the same hours every day. The schedule for us is not what hours to work, but what tasks they will be performing at what times.

 

[bcr229]

I want to emphasize that Google AI is garbage. It is beyond unreliable.

AI is so bad that California sanctions attorneys caught using it.

https://natlawreview.com/article/ca...ainst-attorney-misuse-artificial-intelligence

 

[Bali Hai Again]

I always made very certain that the new hire knew exactly what the work schedule was and some of the nuisances associated with working that schedule before they accepted the position. If they didn’t like the schedule nobody forced them to accept the job.

 

[Bali Hai Again]

I always made very certain that the new hire knew exactly what the work schedule was and some of the nuisances associated with working that schedule before they accepted the position. If they didn’t like the schedule nobody forced them to accept the job.