Two 8 hour shifts less than 12 hours apart

[Ladyback1]

I live in MA but work in NH. I am a non-salaried, non-contracted retail employee. My store manager makes the schedule. Every week, he schedules me to close one night, then open the next morning. Sometimes I'm scheduled this way twice in one week. We close and open in less than 12 hours. For example, the store closes at 11 pm and it takes an hour to clean up so I don't leave until 12 am. Then, I have to show up by 8 am the next day for my next shift. Is this legal? I barely get any sleep because it takes awhile to get home, get changed, get something to eat, take a shower, and wind down enough for bed.

I am also scheduled for 40 hours a week, 6-7 days a week but because of my non paid break, I get no overtime. For instance, today is Tuesday. I work tomorrow and last Wednesday was my day off, so tomorrow will be my 7th day in a row of working. Is this legal?

I've tried looking this up myself but I'm not able to find much info and any info that I find is hard to understand because of the way it is written. I can't take much more of this job but I can't quit because I can't afford it and I have no other job to go to.

Thank you for any help you have. I wasn't sure which thread to go to and this one seemed the most appropriate.

Hmmmmph...When I worked 911 dispatching, there were times that I worked my regularly scheduled 11P to 7A and would carry over until 11A (or later) get home, try to unwind (911 dispatching can be quite the stressful job), get some sleep, and then do it again. Oh yeah...I had two small children at the time.

What does your work schedule run? I mean the schedule put up on Sat. for the upcoming week? Is the new schedule put up on Tuesday? What day? And how do your pay periods run? Sunday to Saturday? Monday to Sunday? etc.

 

[Staten.Islander]

I certainly hope you've been applying for unemployment for any week that you got less in gross wages than you would have been able to draw in unemployment benefits. If the company tries to get rid of you by cutting your hours, you always have that possibility of applying for partial unemployment benefits while still working. It is a very good idea to tell prospective employers that you left your last job because your hours were cut, or they did not have hours for you to work, which is 100% true, even if they were working everyone else, and didn't go into a tirade about how unfairly you were treated, the sad situation of the American worker in general or how bad things are for you because of your bad back and your sleep issues.

Unemployment is long over with. I'm now on public assistance until I can find a real job.

Telling prospective employers that I left my previous job because my hours were cut has not worked over the 2-1/2 years I was looking for employment.

You see I was hurt on my previous job and had to fight to get back to work because my employer was resistant. My employer then progressively lowered my pay to the point of not giving me any work at all while refusing to talk to me or give me an explanation. So I filed (and won) a Worker's Compensation Discrimination claim as well as the subsequent attempt by my employer to appeal. (Of course I got nothing and my employer wasn't forced to take me back to work). As a result, I've been black-balled in the only industry I have "work experience" in.

After not being able to find work since December 2010 I got my present "job" four months ago by putting a fake phone number on my application (because my phone was cut off in January 2013) and squeezing through the interview despite my back and hearing loss problems.

I've been averaging only about 6 hours a week for the last two months because they found out about my back problem. (long story).

If the government decides that I can work and denies me S.S.D. based on whatever criteria they use and potential employers decide not to hire me base on whatever criteria they use, what can I do?

I'm basically stuck in the middle and have as a result been teetering on the edge of becoming homeless for the last three years. (And ironically it was the the H.R.A.(public assistance) and their F.E.G.S program that I'm by law required to attend that resulted in me re-injuring my back over a year ago).

And throughout all my issues over the last three years my previous Union was useless, as expected.

It's just the way things are here in New York. (At least in the industry I've worked in).

Staten.islander