What are my rights regarding employment?

Question

Can employers make you work on "Christmas".
What if it is against your belief. My job is so insane, they are open 24/7. I never really know when I am going home.
One of my boss's even said he worked 37 hours straight once. Is that normal. Can he make me. Help me! There has got to be a law. I have been going in and getting about 5 calls an hour. It is not even busy because of the holidays, but they still tell me I have to come in.
Isn't this "cost ineffective". How can they make money if there is no business.
WHY ARE SOME PEOPLE SUCH WORK, WORK "WORKAHOLICS".
I PREFER TO SPEND SOME TIME WITH FAMILY. I am getting old and could drop any second cause I have had High B/P for for 34 years. I don't like someone pushing me to the brink of death. It is just not right.
I DON'T WANT TO HEAR "BUSINESS AS USUAL", ALL THAT MEANS TO ME IS YOU ARE INHUMAN.

Answer 1

When you were hired you should have been told about working weekends or holidays. An employer has every right to expect employees to work on off days. In any case, find out if you're an exempt or non-exempt employee (I'm guessing you're non-exempt). Various state laws protect employees from being 'over-worked.' For instance in Michigan a non-exempt employee can only be expected to work 8 hours/day (two 15 minute breaks, one hour lunch) otherwise the employer must pay over-time. You always have the right to quit and find a different job.

Answer 2

This is the disadvantage of a type of business that is open all the time. I know people who worked in the hotel business and they seemed to be on call all the time. Some people like that, as you said they think that is being successful. So take a close look at the business you work in. My experience is that the business that are open all the time or do not respect employees time off actually are the worst to work in.
There are rules regarding work hours, they differ for hourly employees vs. salary.
You might want to look for another job that has a more set schedule. Also you might want to put some things in writing, like an old fasioned memo, that you want put in your employee file. It should state that you have a medical condition and are not available for on call 24/7 service. If it is a larger company, the HR dept might be of some help, but in general consider yourself on your own. HR departments pretend to be there for employees, but they exist to protect the company and management.
I would almost gaurantee that not everyone in the same position as you accepts being called in at the last minute. This probably means you try to "help" out and you get taken advantage of.
Good luck.

Answer 3

There are no laws concerning working on Christmas. There are a number of places that work 24/7 police, hospitals, fire dept, Nursing home, hotels etc. If you are concerned about the number of hours that you work in a week the standard is anything over 40 is considered overtime and the pay is usually time and a half. I am of sure what type of work you do but a call to the local labor board should clarify the hours and time required to work for you. Just remember you might find yourself unemployed and from the sounds of your job it might be time to start looking for something better.

Answer 4

There are different laws and 'social norms' which are different depending on where you live. Your local 'department of commerce' or 'department of industrial relations' may be able to stear you to the right people/web site to get more information for where you live. Eg, over in Australia where I am you have some laws which apply for the state you live in (NSW Industrial Relations) and others are for the federal (WorkChoices).

So, what I may tell you is totally legal and accurate to where I live, unfortunately may not be at all how the law is applied to where you live. You will need to do a bit of research for where you live...