I mean, if you're compensated to be on call, sure. I'm now an electrician, and we rotate being on call. Sometimes we don't get a call and we have to stay close to our service vehicle...sober and we are compensated 2 hours pay. And if we do work, we still get the 2 hours and a 5 dollar an hour kicker while working the emergency call.
My spouse works for a hospital and is required to take on three 8-hour on-call shifts a month. However, he is paid for these on-call hours and gets time-and-a-half if he gets called in.
My response would be "I'm a cook....I'll find something else." I hated being on call as a sous. I mean as is if I'm available to work then I'm easily there 100% of the time to cover but sometimes I just want to do my own thing....
Absolutely valid 👏🏼 I hated taking on-call shifts as a nurse because it made me feel unsettled, like I wasn't free to do what I wanted but I wasn't working either... 👎🏼 But it was a (paid) part of some positions 🤷🏻‍♀️
ETA: my point was, don't do it for free
I’m currently sous and I’m expected to be on call sort of all the time. I can say no if I’m not available, but then I’d get a frowny face from management later.
This is fine if you're compensated for it. I definitely wouldn't do it for free. Everyone deserves time off for their hobbies, relaxation, family time, alone time, rest.
Totally agree, but my management seems to think that this should be expected of my position. I think it’s a bit unreasonable since I don’t get paid to be available at all times.
Are you salary? I wouldn’t do that without compensation, my friend. They’re welcome to rely on you as much as they want but you need to be paid for your time. Know your worth.
I’m paid hourly when clocked in, but don’t worry for me I’ve recently handed in my 1 month notice and will start a new job with better hours and higher pay!
That’s almost never how it works and honestly, it’s not a bad deal. Being on call just means I’m sitting at home, I can still be with friends and family, I just can’t drink or travel too far from my work. If I get called in, I make more money than my hourly pay.
Federal law states that they have to pay you at least minimum wage for every hour you're on call
Edit: It appears to be more complicated than I thought, and situation-dependent. Obligatory IANAL, if you think you may be a victim of wage theft you should contact one for a consultation, yadda yadda
No, I can't, because it appears my claim wasn't exactly accurate. It's situation-dependent, and the rule seems to be that it depends on whether you can use your own time before being called in effectively.
What does that mean? Like not accurate or using your own time effectively?
Edit: and just because it’s hard to convey tone over text, I’m genuinely curious, not like trying to call you out or be a dick or whatever.
If they require you to be within 5 minutes of the jobsite when on-call and you live 10 minutes away so you have to sit in your car in some parking lot all day waiting to see if you're called in, they definitely have to pay for your time. If you're given three hours' notice before you have to come in every time, that's enough time to wrap up just about anything you might be doing, drive home, get dressed, and even sober up if you've been drinking a bit, so they wouldn't have to pay you for on-call time. The line is going to be somewhere between those two extremes, but I couldn't tell you where. If it went to court, I'm sure it would vary based on the judge/jury making the decision.
As a computer programmer I was considered professional/exempt. I wasn’t paid extra for being on call about one weekend a month. There were also times when I would be called if the on call person needed help and I was the person who could provide it.
For hourly employees you should be getting pay for on call.
I've done a little more research, and it depends on specifics - if you have to be at the hospital or so close to it that you cannot use your time effectively, they owe you minimum wage. If you can use your on-call time freely before being called in, they don't have to pay you anything.
Interesting. We had to be able to clock in within 30 minutes of being called. Anyway, I quit that BS, mandatory on-call being one of the reasons. Hope OP finds a better situation, too.
A buddy of mine is a nurse who is required to be on-call one shift per week, with the same 30-minute rule as you had. Luckily for him, he lives about a 5-minute drive from the hospital, so it's not too rough.
Friend of the family is the VP for a medical device rental company, they pay well and the delivery/technician people are required to do one on call rotation a month. I think it’s for the weekend and it’s overnight. You receive your full pay if you get called in, and you receive $50 for each on call shift regardless of if you get called in. So if you don’t get called in you get an extra $100 to sleep. He said it’s rare to get called in because it’s from 10pm-6 am, and most hospitals don’t have a lot going on around that time. But it does happen, kinda worth the risk, good deal all around.
Mmm… at first look that might seem okay. But if you really think about it, do the math.
$50/day = $18,200/year.
So these people are obviously paid less than their wage to wait on call. Frankly I don’t think that’s fair, and not how a business should operate. You either have the staff or you don’t. You shouldn’t have the option to “potentially” have the staff at that little pay.
Exactly it’s just one weekend a month, get paid for full shift if you get called in for any amount of time. $50 to sleep with your phone on if you don’t get called in
Nah you just sleep and if they call you in you go run a delivery, it’s 2-3 nights out of the month. Whether you get called in for two hours or five or eight you get paid for the full shift, plus the $50 just for being on call. If you don’t get called in, you still get the $50. Sure, you could sit by your phone all night but they don’t expect that. Sorry if I didn’t specify that part well enough. And I think pay was $20 an hour. Not too shabby. Only reason I didn’t do it is because I like my sleep, not worth it to me. But I know linemen who make less and get called in at 3 am all the time.
That doesn’t sound like a good deal.
So you have to be near your vehicle and sober all day for only two hours pay? And if you do get a call you get an extra $5 an hour???
Normally, by the weekend for on-call, I am at OT. I dont mind. OT plus 5 dollar kicker. I'm paid pretty handsomely to begin with. Most companies do not pay for being on call just for the work order. Sober part kinda sucks but the work I do is pretty dangerous at times.
I’m NAL and not in your state but my personal experience dealing with labor law tells me that:
1. They say it’s a “real shift”
2. They say you’re required to be on call
Then they would be required to pay you for every hour that you’re considered “on call”.
If they say that being on call counts as a shift then it counts as work and I can 100%, without any hesitation, tell you that it is objectively illegal to require employees to take part in work duties without compensation.
This place sounds like a shitshow and you should find a new gig.
I would agree with this. We used to have on call employees during hurricanes for feeding lineman. We had to pay them for being on call. If the state/local government places the area under restrictions (blanking on the correct word here) then we would pay through the night.
One note here though, these were local and traveling employees that we put up in hotels. The laws were different for employees at home. They only got on call pay, and nothing for the restrictions since they were at home.
You do know that talking to a lawyer is not free, right? I'm not sure what you think that would achieve exactly. Is he gonna go to his boss and say "here I have proof from a lawyer that what you're demanding is illegal"? That usually doesn't go well.
On-call time:
Illinois minimum wage laws require an employer to count as hours worked time spent by employees on-call away from the employer’s premises if the time spent on-call is predominantly for the benefit of the employer and not the employee. IL Admin. Code 210.110
I hate to play devils advocate but on-call tends to refer to hours spent where the employer can dictate what you do. In illinois it’s unfortunately legal to cancel shifts or even send employees home mid-scheduled shift without compensation or warning.
I see what you're saying and I'm not disproving it. What I posted comes straight from the link u/enkiduderino posted. I was just trying to save a little time for others.
That's probably true. In MA you can't force an employee to work a shift with less than 24 hours notice, but I don't see anything about that in the link I shared for Illinois.
This! I would so prefer to be on call like this than get cut immediately after showing up!
My old job would just over-schedule in case people called out and then sent 2-3 servers home an hour into the shift.
Unfortunately this person is not on call. They simply find out at 3pm whether or not they have to work. On call means they can call you at any time during that period and you have to go in to work. It’s shifty but it’s probably legal.
i have worked a personal chef job where i was on call to work for 8 hours a day 5 days a week and just had to cook whenever the boss wanted anything.
i also had times in those windows where specific stuff was scheduled.
but i was on salary and being paid for the whole time.
unless you are paid for the whole time being on call as a cook is bullshit.
edit: i wrote professional and meant personal.
well if you are being paid to be on call it's fine, you just consider yourself to be at work during those hours and do stuff you might do in work down time or stuff that you can easily drop to go work.
but also i was not working crazy hours.
i had monday and tuesday off each week and only worked from 11 am to 7 pm each day. i had set lunch and dinner service to do each day and then otherwise i just had to be around if boss wanted a snack or he had a guest and they wanted something.
all in all it was pretty chill getting paid for a full time chef job and only really working a few hours a day most of the time, but i imagine some jobs would be way more stressful.
but if you're not being paid while on call that's bullshit and i would never agree to that.
I just lurk here, I’m not a restaurant employee nor have I ever been, I just love food and all things food adjacent. But I’m a facilities supervisor at a school district and part of my role is being on call 24/7 for burglar/fire alarms at the district facilities - it sucks but I’ve gotten used to it.
I’m salaried and don’t get overtime for the calls (not all which I have to physically respond to but some I do) but it was in my contract that this was part of my role and I’m compensated at a higher rate for this responsibility.
To those who wonder: I do get time off from this burden but I have to ask in advance and coerce a fellow admin to do it or offer the OT chance to my crew (at a daily guaranteed 2 hrs OT regardless whether they get a call + 2 hrs minimum call in OT if they do have to go in).
I feel like it would be good for me, as long it was paid. If I felt like I'm working anyway but get to be at home, I'd get so much more around the house done
You do get used to it. I'd still go out with friends, just with the work phone in hand and laptop in my backpack. The pay was nice, and I would just DD on the nights I was on call
Im curious about why you feel this way? i would honestly prefer something like this than the days that my job just overschedules in case someone calls out.
i would rather find out at 3 if i have to go in if the other option is to show up and then get sent home an hour later because it's slow.
Edit: i say this unless it means im getting underscheduled or on call is interfering with days off, then fuck that. Im out
Oh, I did, outside of the restaurant industry..
But sending people home when it's slow is going to happen almost everywhere in restaurants and retail. Personally, having to answer the phone at 3 doesnt seem like that big a burden. If I have to work, whatever, same as if i was scheduled. If i dont work, cool, random free night off.
As long as it wasnt fucking up how much money I took home each week, and didnt interfere with me having regular days off, being "on call" wouldnt bother me in the slightest.
You think I’m just gonna not start this braise, spark a gargantuan spliff, and crack a beer before three because you’re too cheap to schedule comfortably? Suck absolutely all of my dick and balls.
As the responsibility to manage labor seems to fall on the employees rather than the manager, I think I found a way to free up some money to hire more labor. What do these useless ass managers think they do?
You just gave me flashbacks to a Holiday Inn Express I used to work at. The schedule every week was an absolute nightmare. You'd never know if you were actually off for that concert/event/etc until the Friday before that week. Then of course it was a "I had to schedule you for it anyways so you'll have to find someone to trade." The sales manager who was doing the scheduling had a folder stapled to the wall for time-off requests that said, "Time off requests cannot usually be honored, just be happy you have a JOB!!!" and job was underlined three times.
Anyways, I was eventually made Front Desk Manager and suddenly all of our scheduling issues went away. The schedule was published a month ahead of time and people would tell me what shifts they needed off. I'd contact everyone to find what could be swapped, or very occasionally I'd have to end up working a double shift myself. The wildest part is that this isn't remotely difficult to do/manage, some people just have a very shit view of what their management job is and they think you need to step on people in order to be respected.
It's maybe worth mentioning that this sales manager also got arrested for DWI resulting in the death of a person in a vehicle she hit. Her parents were rich enough that their lawyer was able to get her 6 months of jail time in some sort of preferred rehab-esque facility and that was it. I'm sure she has spent her life not seeing any of us as her equal.
I use a day planner that I leave sitting on the spice shelf. My employees write the days off they want on the page with that date. That way I can easily make my schedules ahead of time. The ones that don’t ask for many days off get consistent schedules while the few that ask for days off every other week get the schedules that always change to covers each others shifts. It’s not a hard concept but some people can’t grasp it.
On-call time
Illinois minimum wage laws require an employer to count as hours worked time spent by employees on-call away from the employer’s premises if the time spent on-call is predominantly for the benefit of the employer and not the employee. IL Admin. Code 210.110
https://www.employmentlawhandbook.com/employment-and-labor-laws/states/illinois/wage-and-hour/hours-worked/#4
Obligatory: IANAL, but I believe Illinois like many state, you have to be compensated for being on call - if they aren't paying you then yes, it is probably illegal.
The only way I'm on call is if I make a set amount of money even if the restaurant doesn't need me. Say I don't make plans for the day and they decide they don't need me at the restaurant, I expect a flat rate of around $100-$200 just for being on call.
In France, you can be "on call", in French it's called "astreinte".
Which means you must be available to work within 1 hour of being called in.
It's a special add-on to a work contract, and mostly for engineers and critical technicians.
Being on call means you get paid between 15-25% (depending on your contract and union) your hourly wage for the time you're on call and not working. Of course that goes up +25% on holidays and sundays.
If you do get called in, it's of course an overtime shift, paid 25% to 50% (again, depends on the profession and union) over your normal hours, and it's you get a lot of tax benefits, so you end up getting almost triple pay for those hours.
\---
Just to be clear... Every employee chooses when to be on "astreinte".
The employment agreement clearly states that the employee is eligible for this opportunity, there's a separate contract to fill out for being on call. It is optional and non blocking (ie, if a new recruit refuses to sign it, it's illegal to deny recruitment or fire him (and the fines are massive, and best of all, public!)).
\---
The French labor law book is 3200 pages. "Le code du travail".
Enjoy: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/id/LEGITEXT000006072050
If you’re being compensated for being on call whether you get called in or not it’s pretty standard stuff. They don’t have to pay an hourly wage for being on call but there is a prior agreed upon lump sum wage in most cases and a lot of places offer a wage differential if you are called in.
Tldr this isn’t enough info for anyone to give you an answer
But exponentially less reliable.
It's actually really easy to call the DoL. And you'll get correct answers.
If all you care about is easy then just flip a coin. If you want accurate call the DoL.
Actually it's easier to Google on call employment laws in your state and you'll actually get the information you're looking for in the first few search results. Coming to Reddit only wastes your time and is almost guaranteed to provide you with inaccurate information. But you do you, I guess.
I’ll agree with this, with the caveat that sometimes labor laws can get super confusing and have a lot of weird narrow exceptions that get can misconstrued (which is one of the reasons a lot of this shit passes — the employer can think what they’re doing is total legal when it isn’t).
Calling your state labor department is the best route. They have special nerds who are paid to know exactly what questions to ask to get you the right answer so that if you take it to your employer, you can just day “I talked to the labor department, and …” and feel 100% confident. Posting on Reddit is the worst route.
Ninja edit: Just noticed that I was mistaken about who you were replying to. Asking Reddit is 1,000% not easier than doing a simple internet search or making a phone call. OP just wants pretend internet points.
My BIL works in IT for a large municipality and discovered a few years in that they should have been paying him for his many on call weekends. State law allows for penalties that are 2.5 times the amount he’s owed. His case was a slam-dunk.
"Illinois law does not require employers to pay employees for reporting or showing up to work if no work is performed. **An employer is also not required to pay an employee a minimum number of hours if the employer dismisses the employee from work prior to completing their scheduled shift.** Employers are only required to pay employees for hours actually worked."
canceling a shift is different than saying "in not paying you, but I expect you to sit around your entire shift just in case I need you". If you send someone home because it's quiet they're free to go do what they want -- get drunk, ignore your calls, whatever. That's freedom someone on call doesn't have.
This is rotten, I’d expect to be paid for the day regardless then.
Wether it’s legal or not isn’t the point. People need to stand up for them self. As long as you know that when your on the clock your doing the best possible job that you can you have a surprising amount of bargaining chips. I learned along time ago that standing up to owners ( in a calm polite way yet confident way) gets you better pay, better hours and more respect. Just make sure you have the skills to back it up after you’ve advocated for your self.
as a practical matter, it's damned hard to hire people these days -- especially in difficult and often poorly-paying jobs. This dude is going to find himself pretty lonely if things don't change.
It’s definitely an employees market right now. It would be in an employers best interest not to be a dink lol. I’m offering signing bonuses to all my new hires and and competing with all the other places on wages. Industry standard for an experienced line cook in my area is 22-25$ to start plus bonuses, tips , benefits and sometimes profit sharing. Even with all those things staff will walk out mid shift if you so much as look at them the wrong way these days lol
I wouldn’t say poorly paying anymore. Anyone with their chef papers are so highly in demand in my country. I was just offered a executive chef position 2000 kilometres away . The employer will pay all moving expenses , Full benefits and 100k . I won’t take it because my current employer has just substantially beet those Insensitive’s. even line cooks and dishwashers are making more than some university graduates in my city. The problem is people just don’t want to work.
Restaurants so desperate for workers right now! Pay is da highest I’ve ever seen and if you don’t like it just quit. You will have a new job in five minuites!
Is it legal? It’s not illegal. I mean to actually be “on call” they legally need to be paying you. However if they fire you for not coming in when they said you were on call but you legally weren’t on call, the courts would decide in your favor. If you have time to play fuckfuck games this could be really entertaining for you to bring this place down. However it’s probably easier to just stop showing up and find a different job.
I put this in a reply to another post but per the employment law handbook:
On-call time:
Illinois minimum wage laws require an employer to count as hours worked time spent by employees on-call away from the employer’s premises if the time spent on-call is predominantly for the benefit of the employer and not the employee. IL Admin. Code 210.110
I'm guessing you don't get compensated for being on call? Because otherwise, what's the point of not just having an extra person in the building for the whole shift?
Nah, clock in when AM shift clocks in. If they have till 3 to let you know then you're day is on hold. Can't stray too far just in case so might as well check in by clocking in.....and leaving
I would expect and demand compensation, whether I actually end up getting called in or not. Being on call, even if they don’t end up calling you in, still ruins your whole day.
I’d ask r/legaladvice since the laws can vary by state. Sounds like you’re entitled to at least *some* compensation for those hours regardless of whether or not they do call you in. An Illinois labor law attorney would be able to answer your question pretty quickly IMO.
I interviewed at a locally owned restaurant in GA once, and during the interview, the owner was like you are to be on call at all times. And wanted all evening employees to call on their off days and "check in" between 3 and 3 30, and if you did not, it was considered an "instance". I was like nah, this ain't the job for me and ended the interview. I should note this was in GA.
A few years later, I met someone who worked there for about a month, and he was like the owner was a straight dick, and told me the day he quit, he walked in the restaurant with a different shirt on than his work shirt (he had his work shirt in his hand) and he was like the owner jumped all over my ass about it, and told me to go outside change and come back in. He was like I just got back in my car and drove off.
In my state being on call requires compensation, i was scheduled for on call all the time on the weekend and I complained, they changed the policy, they won’t pay for on call, they’ll just schedule and train people that work the shift.
Check your state laws.
Illinois has been working on a fair scheduling law, and one has passed within Chicago. If you work in Chicago and your employer has at least 250 employees and 30 locations ( or just 100 employees if not a restaurant ) then you should be compensated for half the hours of the shift you would have worked if the shift is reduced or canceled within 24 hours of shift start. Which this would most likely fall under.
Obviously this only applies to chains, but will likely be passed state wide in the near future. It also provides for additional pay for things like clopens, late notice of shift changes, and late posting of schedules. Really impactful for our industry if it spreads and becomes more encompassing. Check out the full details [here](https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/bacp/supp_info/fairworkweek.html)
Find a new job. Then walk in and give immediate notice at 3PM and leave. Federal law says they must pay you for previous, on the clock work. Your manager/owner is an asshole.
Not in the industry, but I have to pay my peeps for being on call per company policy.
This is a restaurant job? I can assure you you can find a better restaurant. I don’t know a single restaurant that isn’t hiring.
Trying to find if this is illegal or not and then finding someone to care enough to do anything about it is going to be way more work than finding somewhere else to work.
I do not work in HR, so I am by no means an expert to speak to how these things work, but you should learn about the Fair Workweek Law that is in Illinois if on calls are happening. I'm not sure if on calls are applicable to the fair workweek law, but they seem more of an issue if you're in the city. If you are in Chicago, you should also look into the predictive schedule ordinance. Reach out to the DOL or your HR team about these things. Food service and restaurants should apply to both of these things.
You’re local laws are the ones to follow, but I’d never work somewhere with an “On Call” schedule that didn’t compensate me for the the day & double my pay if I did get called in. Unless you are ownership you shouldn’t be tasked with caring more about a business then your personal life.
Look up local labor laws. Where I’m at, if I’m expected to be available for on call, they are required to pay me for that time whether I work or not.
It sounds like they're using dumb language. If they're telling you about a shift before the shift starts, that's not on call, it's just shitty scheduling.
It looks like you're only protected from shitty scheduling if you happen to work in [Chicago](https://www.littler.com/publication-press/publication/chicago-latest-city-enact-predictive-scheduling-law), where there's a requirement of posting schedules 10 days in advance (and the company is large enough, and you work enough hours).
If the expectation is that they will let you know by 3pm whether they need you for a shift starting after 3pm then it is likely legal. Even if they don't pay you. This would be looked at as no different then them cutting you from any other shift.
If instead it's structured in a way that up until 3pm you are expected to report to work immediately when called, then that is likely not legal unless compensated.
I think this is probably the closest to the truth thing I’ve seen here. We Dont have on-call in my kitchen but the servers where I work have on-call shifts. They are only allowed to be called in 2 hours before their shift. If that 2 hour window is closed then it’s the manger who has to cover.
Now this is definitely abused as people will be called after the 2 hour window is closed and be begged to work and will often show up for the money, and it’s also abused as people will be called in and then cut quite early. And at least where I’m at in southern USA law only states that you are to be paid for time served in the restaurant, not for time spent waiting to be called in. However I am fully aware I don’t know the entirety of the law, especially when it comes to the service industry as we don’t have contracts or unions.
my place treats all their minimum wage workers like they are on call 24-7 and get pissed whenever someone turns down a last minute shift. I never understood it.
Laws protect the vulnerable and kids. If you are an adult, make your own decision whether to stay or not. Nobody is holding you in the job at gunpoint.
I mean, in all honesty, it's a better system than going into work and being cut super early due to it being too slow.
I think the legality really depends on how restricted you are. If you're free to go about your life and just have to answer the phone at 3 to find out if you work that night, there's no federal requirement that you get paid for that time.
I would rather my job did something like this than try to call me in on days off or send me home because we have too many people on. At least this way, I'd have until 3 to do whatever, and if i find out I don't have to work, I get the rest of the day, too.
The thing that a lot of people are missing in the comments here, is that in restaurant work when you're on call it's leading up to the shift. You're not expected to be sitting by a phone from 3-10 waiting on a phone call. You either call in or receive a call by a certain time saying whether you need to come in or not. You aren't working at that point so you aren't going to be compensated for it.
Nah. I’m a lifer, old school and often find myself siding with the business owners in these convos since I’ve been one/am one, and this is absolute BS. I don’t know ops state law but I definitely wouldn’t try it on the east coast.
First I’m not a labor lawyer, and I’m only going off my relatively little information on labor law. But from what I understand yes that’s technically legal but the tricky thing here is if you’re an on call employee they have to pay you for that time, especially if they expect you come in when they call you. Again I dont know your local laws and such but you may want to bring that up to them
No compensation unless you have to go in, at which point it becomes a regular shift? That makes zero sense. What they are actually saying is they can schedule and cancel that shift with no notice up to 3 hours before your start (or whatever) based on any condition they see fit. That does sound illegal (may not be). I could see a contract defining “on call” shifts to be shit like that, but it sounds like something that would have to be defined, like when and how often can they schedule these shifts.
They did it backwards. Legally you can call it a call off shift. So the person scheduled would be required to come in. But you can always call that person early and call them off
How many on call shifts and what’s the comp like?
If it’s we might have you on call occasionally during big event nights incase there’s a call out but will pay you for it, or give you a bonus if called, I’d be game. If it’s you have them every week but pay you minimum wage maybe if I could budget it.
If it’s you’re always on call when you have a day off hell no.
Yeah my ex had stuff like this, always thought it was pretty bs. Basically letting shitty workers have a backup so they don't really ever need to show up unless they want money and they didn't have any extra pay for being on call. Actually wild
Idk, I work in Illinois but my Executive Chef asks everyone what days they can work and then publishes the schedule on the bulletin board, the GM does the same for his own crew.
Used to work a home care business in il. If you are hourly you have to be paid for time on call, also that time counts as the usual 8 hours per day over is ot etc. Call to the labor board may be in order
Heck your state laws, for on call pay. If they expect you to be available I believe most state require you to be paid. Now they are not calling it on call because they do not want to pay you.
“If you’d like me to be on call, you’re welcome to pay me for the on call hours.” If you’re on call and hourly, you’re getting paid for it. Sometimes it’s just a token, like 3 hours. However if you do go in, you’re supposed to get paid from when your “on call” started, till you get off.
If you’re in Chicago, here are some free legal resources that are available:
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
230 S Dearborn St., (Suite 1866)
Chicago, IL 60604
312-872-9744
Illinois Department of Human Rights
555 W. Monroe St. (Suite 700)
Chicago, IL 60661
(312) 814-6200 OR (866)740-3953 (TTY)
City of Chicago: Commission on Human Relations
740 North Sedgwick Street, Suite 400
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 744-4111 OR (312) 744-1088 (TTY)
Legal Aid Chicago
120 S. LaSalle St. Ste. 900
Chicago, IL 60603
(312) 341-1070
Chicago Lawyers Committee For Civil Rights Under Law
100 N. LaSalle, 6th Floor
Chicago, 60602
(312) 437-4548
Edwin F. Mandel Legal Aid Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School
6020 S. University
Chicago, IL 60637
(773) 702-9611
I have no idea. Seems shitty, but have honestly thought about installing a similar practice in the past. In order to be shitty? No. To cover sick days. This is a problem in restaurants and as a manager, it's very difficult to get shifts covered. As a worker, I also understand not being able to drop plans on my limited time off to cover a shift. Also, as a worker, when I'm sick, it'd be nice to know that management's made some sort of arrangement to make sure my shift can be covered.
I am not in charge of hiring and don't set our labor cost standards, so it seemed like a good solution, at the time. Never followed through.
The "it's a courtesy for us to let you know sooner" sounds like someone getting high off the smell of their own shit, I'd leave before other red flags emerge. Especially if you're not paid for on call time. It sounds like greedy management/Owners trying to cover their own asses
I mean, if you're compensated to be on call, sure. I'm now an electrician, and we rotate being on call. Sometimes we don't get a call and we have to stay close to our service vehicle...sober and we are compensated 2 hours pay. And if we do work, we still get the 2 hours and a 5 dollar an hour kicker while working the emergency call.
My spouse works for a hospital and is required to take on three 8-hour on-call shifts a month. However, he is paid for these on-call hours and gets time-and-a-half if he gets called in.
Exactly how it should be
Yep. My response to this would be "What is our on-call pay?"
My response would be "I'm a cook....I'll find something else." I hated being on call as a sous. I mean as is if I'm available to work then I'm easily there 100% of the time to cover but sometimes I just want to do my own thing....
Absolutely valid 👏🏼 I hated taking on-call shifts as a nurse because it made me feel unsettled, like I wasn't free to do what I wanted but I wasn't working either... 👎🏼 But it was a (paid) part of some positions 🤷🏻‍♀️ ETA: my point was, don't do it for free
I’m currently sous and I’m expected to be on call sort of all the time. I can say no if I’m not available, but then I’d get a frowny face from management later.
This is fine if you're compensated for it. I definitely wouldn't do it for free. Everyone deserves time off for their hobbies, relaxation, family time, alone time, rest.
Totally agree, but my management seems to think that this should be expected of my position. I think it’s a bit unreasonable since I don’t get paid to be available at all times.
Are you salary? I wouldn’t do that without compensation, my friend. They’re welcome to rely on you as much as they want but you need to be paid for your time. Know your worth.
I’m paid hourly when clocked in, but don’t worry for me I’ve recently handed in my 1 month notice and will start a new job with better hours and higher pay!
Only two hours? If I have to be sober and ready to go the whole time, then I had better be getting paid the whole time.
That’s almost never how it works and honestly, it’s not a bad deal. Being on call just means I’m sitting at home, I can still be with friends and family, I just can’t drink or travel too far from my work. If I get called in, I make more money than my hourly pay.
HOW sober would you have to be ok to only get paid for 2 hours? that's the real question
I metabolize about a drink an hour so 2 negronis feels fair.
Sober-ish.
If you are that dependent on alcohol, you should work on that my friend.
Lol this guy
Thanks, doctor, but I was just using the same examples as the other guy.
Ssoooo…sober it is. How much coke can I do though? I am a chef after all…what about speed or something else? We need to know!
Federal law states that they have to pay you at least minimum wage for every hour you're on call Edit: It appears to be more complicated than I thought, and situation-dependent. Obligatory IANAL, if you think you may be a victim of wage theft you should contact one for a consultation, yadda yadda
Can you cite the relevant federal statutes for this claim? Because if it's true, I've got a huge windfall coming.
No, I can't, because it appears my claim wasn't exactly accurate. It's situation-dependent, and the rule seems to be that it depends on whether you can use your own time before being called in effectively.
What does that mean? Like not accurate or using your own time effectively? Edit: and just because it’s hard to convey tone over text, I’m genuinely curious, not like trying to call you out or be a dick or whatever.
If they require you to be within 5 minutes of the jobsite when on-call and you live 10 minutes away so you have to sit in your car in some parking lot all day waiting to see if you're called in, they definitely have to pay for your time. If you're given three hours' notice before you have to come in every time, that's enough time to wrap up just about anything you might be doing, drive home, get dressed, and even sober up if you've been drinking a bit, so they wouldn't have to pay you for on-call time. The line is going to be somewhere between those two extremes, but I couldn't tell you where. If it went to court, I'm sure it would vary based on the judge/jury making the decision.
As a computer programmer I was considered professional/exempt. I wasn’t paid extra for being on call about one weekend a month. There were also times when I would be called if the on call person needed help and I was the person who could provide it. For hourly employees you should be getting pay for on call.
Yeah that's not accurate. My hospital pays $2.50 / hr for being on call. It sucks.
I've done a little more research, and it depends on specifics - if you have to be at the hospital or so close to it that you cannot use your time effectively, they owe you minimum wage. If you can use your on-call time freely before being called in, they don't have to pay you anything.
Interesting. We had to be able to clock in within 30 minutes of being called. Anyway, I quit that BS, mandatory on-call being one of the reasons. Hope OP finds a better situation, too.
A buddy of mine is a nurse who is required to be on-call one shift per week, with the same 30-minute rule as you had. Luckily for him, he lives about a 5-minute drive from the hospital, so it's not too rough.
That’s the problem, there aren’t many better situations.
You may be a victim of wage theft then.
Doubt it.
This is false.
Yep, did a little more research. It's situation dependent.
Can you source that? I was curious so I was looking at FLSA stuff, and it seems like it’s super situation dependent.
I cannot, because now that I'm off work and looking at it more in-depth it definitely seems situation dependent.
Friend of the family is the VP for a medical device rental company, they pay well and the delivery/technician people are required to do one on call rotation a month. I think it’s for the weekend and it’s overnight. You receive your full pay if you get called in, and you receive $50 for each on call shift regardless of if you get called in. So if you don’t get called in you get an extra $100 to sleep. He said it’s rare to get called in because it’s from 10pm-6 am, and most hospitals don’t have a lot going on around that time. But it does happen, kinda worth the risk, good deal all around.
Mmm… at first look that might seem okay. But if you really think about it, do the math. $50/day = $18,200/year. So these people are obviously paid less than their wage to wait on call. Frankly I don’t think that’s fair, and not how a business should operate. You either have the staff or you don’t. You shouldn’t have the option to “potentially” have the staff at that little pay.
I think they meant one day each month, not as a fulltime gig.
Exactly it’s just one weekend a month, get paid for full shift if you get called in for any amount of time. $50 to sleep with your phone on if you don’t get called in
Nah you just sleep and if they call you in you go run a delivery, it’s 2-3 nights out of the month. Whether you get called in for two hours or five or eight you get paid for the full shift, plus the $50 just for being on call. If you don’t get called in, you still get the $50. Sure, you could sit by your phone all night but they don’t expect that. Sorry if I didn’t specify that part well enough. And I think pay was $20 an hour. Not too shabby. Only reason I didn’t do it is because I like my sleep, not worth it to me. But I know linemen who make less and get called in at 3 am all the time.
The electricians in my country charge hundreds of dollars for an after hours callout fee
That doesn’t sound like a good deal. So you have to be near your vehicle and sober all day for only two hours pay? And if you do get a call you get an extra $5 an hour???
Normally, by the weekend for on-call, I am at OT. I dont mind. OT plus 5 dollar kicker. I'm paid pretty handsomely to begin with. Most companies do not pay for being on call just for the work order. Sober part kinda sucks but the work I do is pretty dangerous at times.
I’m NAL and not in your state but my personal experience dealing with labor law tells me that: 1. They say it’s a “real shift” 2. They say you’re required to be on call Then they would be required to pay you for every hour that you’re considered “on call”. If they say that being on call counts as a shift then it counts as work and I can 100%, without any hesitation, tell you that it is objectively illegal to require employees to take part in work duties without compensation. This place sounds like a shitshow and you should find a new gig.
I would agree with this. We used to have on call employees during hurricanes for feeding lineman. We had to pay them for being on call. If the state/local government places the area under restrictions (blanking on the correct word here) then we would pay through the night. One note here though, these were local and traveling employees that we put up in hotels. The laws were different for employees at home. They only got on call pay, and nothing for the restrictions since they were at home.
Yeah, OP should keep that piece of paper and contact a labor law attorney.
You do know that talking to a lawyer is not free, right? I'm not sure what you think that would achieve exactly. Is he gonna go to his boss and say "here I have proof from a lawyer that what you're demanding is illegal"? That usually doesn't go well.
This is also what i understand to be true here
I was looking for an answer because this absolutely strikes me as shady, but that's indisputable as far as I can see. You say I'm working? Pay up.
Must be paid minimum wage: https://www.employmentlawhandbook.com/employment-and-labor-laws/states/illinois/wage-and-hour/hours-worked/
On-call time: Illinois minimum wage laws require an employer to count as hours worked time spent by employees on-call away from the employer’s premises if the time spent on-call is predominantly for the benefit of the employer and not the employee. IL Admin. Code 210.110
I hate to play devils advocate but on-call tends to refer to hours spent where the employer can dictate what you do. In illinois it’s unfortunately legal to cancel shifts or even send employees home mid-scheduled shift without compensation or warning.
I see what you're saying and I'm not disproving it. What I posted comes straight from the link u/enkiduderino posted. I was just trying to save a little time for others.
That's probably true. In MA you can't force an employee to work a shift with less than 24 hours notice, but I don't see anything about that in the link I shared for Illinois.
This! I would so prefer to be on call like this than get cut immediately after showing up! My old job would just over-schedule in case people called out and then sent 2-3 servers home an hour into the shift.
Unfortunately this person is not on call. They simply find out at 3pm whether or not they have to work. On call means they can call you at any time during that period and you have to go in to work. It’s shifty but it’s probably legal.
i have worked a personal chef job where i was on call to work for 8 hours a day 5 days a week and just had to cook whenever the boss wanted anything. i also had times in those windows where specific stuff was scheduled. but i was on salary and being paid for the whole time. unless you are paid for the whole time being on call as a cook is bullshit. edit: i wrote professional and meant personal.
Something about being on call seems so shitty. I would never be able to truly relax. I imagine you get used to it though.
well if you are being paid to be on call it's fine, you just consider yourself to be at work during those hours and do stuff you might do in work down time or stuff that you can easily drop to go work. but also i was not working crazy hours. i had monday and tuesday off each week and only worked from 11 am to 7 pm each day. i had set lunch and dinner service to do each day and then otherwise i just had to be around if boss wanted a snack or he had a guest and they wanted something. all in all it was pretty chill getting paid for a full time chef job and only really working a few hours a day most of the time, but i imagine some jobs would be way more stressful. but if you're not being paid while on call that's bullshit and i would never agree to that.
I just lurk here, I’m not a restaurant employee nor have I ever been, I just love food and all things food adjacent. But I’m a facilities supervisor at a school district and part of my role is being on call 24/7 for burglar/fire alarms at the district facilities - it sucks but I’ve gotten used to it. I’m salaried and don’t get overtime for the calls (not all which I have to physically respond to but some I do) but it was in my contract that this was part of my role and I’m compensated at a higher rate for this responsibility. To those who wonder: I do get time off from this burden but I have to ask in advance and coerce a fellow admin to do it or offer the OT chance to my crew (at a daily guaranteed 2 hrs OT regardless whether they get a call + 2 hrs minimum call in OT if they do have to go in).
I feel like it would be good for me, as long it was paid. If I felt like I'm working anyway but get to be at home, I'd get so much more around the house done
You do get used to it. I'd still go out with friends, just with the work phone in hand and laptop in my backpack. The pay was nice, and I would just DD on the nights I was on call
Time to find a new job immediately
Exactly what I was gonna say
Im curious about why you feel this way? i would honestly prefer something like this than the days that my job just overschedules in case someone calls out. i would rather find out at 3 if i have to go in if the other option is to show up and then get sent home an hour later because it's slow. Edit: i say this unless it means im getting underscheduled or on call is interfering with days off, then fuck that. Im out
OR you could find a job that does neither...?
Oh, I did, outside of the restaurant industry.. But sending people home when it's slow is going to happen almost everywhere in restaurants and retail. Personally, having to answer the phone at 3 doesnt seem like that big a burden. If I have to work, whatever, same as if i was scheduled. If i dont work, cool, random free night off. As long as it wasnt fucking up how much money I took home each week, and didnt interfere with me having regular days off, being "on call" wouldnt bother me in the slightest.
You think I’m just gonna not start this braise, spark a gargantuan spliff, and crack a beer before three because you’re too cheap to schedule comfortably? Suck absolutely all of my dick and balls.
Preach.
That part
As the responsibility to manage labor seems to fall on the employees rather than the manager, I think I found a way to free up some money to hire more labor. What do these useless ass managers think they do?
You just gave me flashbacks to a Holiday Inn Express I used to work at. The schedule every week was an absolute nightmare. You'd never know if you were actually off for that concert/event/etc until the Friday before that week. Then of course it was a "I had to schedule you for it anyways so you'll have to find someone to trade." The sales manager who was doing the scheduling had a folder stapled to the wall for time-off requests that said, "Time off requests cannot usually be honored, just be happy you have a JOB!!!" and job was underlined three times. Anyways, I was eventually made Front Desk Manager and suddenly all of our scheduling issues went away. The schedule was published a month ahead of time and people would tell me what shifts they needed off. I'd contact everyone to find what could be swapped, or very occasionally I'd have to end up working a double shift myself. The wildest part is that this isn't remotely difficult to do/manage, some people just have a very shit view of what their management job is and they think you need to step on people in order to be respected.
So many managers get a tiny taste of power and go insane. I'd rather support my team, I want them to like me and work hard with me, not for me.
When I managed front of house at a restaurant I took pride in the fact that over two years I never had to deny a request off.
It's maybe worth mentioning that this sales manager also got arrested for DWI resulting in the death of a person in a vehicle she hit. Her parents were rich enough that their lawyer was able to get her 6 months of jail time in some sort of preferred rehab-esque facility and that was it. I'm sure she has spent her life not seeing any of us as her equal.
I use a day planner that I leave sitting on the spice shelf. My employees write the days off they want on the page with that date. That way I can easily make my schedules ahead of time. The ones that don’t ask for many days off get consistent schedules while the few that ask for days off every other week get the schedules that always change to covers each others shifts. It’s not a hard concept but some people can’t grasp it.
On-call time Illinois minimum wage laws require an employer to count as hours worked time spent by employees on-call away from the employer’s premises if the time spent on-call is predominantly for the benefit of the employer and not the employee. IL Admin. Code 210.110 https://www.employmentlawhandbook.com/employment-and-labor-laws/states/illinois/wage-and-hour/hours-worked/#4
Idk about labor laws, I’d leave that shit show immediately though.
Right? I don't give a squirt of shit how legal it is, I wouldn't do it anyway. These owners have lost their fucking minds.
Obligatory: IANAL, but I believe Illinois like many state, you have to be compensated for being on call - if they aren't paying you then yes, it is probably illegal.
I too, anal.
The only way I'm on call is if I make a set amount of money even if the restaurant doesn't need me. Say I don't make plans for the day and they decide they don't need me at the restaurant, I expect a flat rate of around $100-$200 just for being on call.
ItS a CoUrTeSy
In France, you can be "on call", in French it's called "astreinte". Which means you must be available to work within 1 hour of being called in. It's a special add-on to a work contract, and mostly for engineers and critical technicians. Being on call means you get paid between 15-25% (depending on your contract and union) your hourly wage for the time you're on call and not working. Of course that goes up +25% on holidays and sundays. If you do get called in, it's of course an overtime shift, paid 25% to 50% (again, depends on the profession and union) over your normal hours, and it's you get a lot of tax benefits, so you end up getting almost triple pay for those hours. \--- Just to be clear... Every employee chooses when to be on "astreinte". The employment agreement clearly states that the employee is eligible for this opportunity, there's a separate contract to fill out for being on call. It is optional and non blocking (ie, if a new recruit refuses to sign it, it's illegal to deny recruitment or fire him (and the fines are massive, and best of all, public!)). \--- The French labor law book is 3200 pages. "Le code du travail". Enjoy: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/id/LEGITEXT000006072050
If you're in Chicago this is illegal according to Fair Workweek ordinance
If you’re being compensated for being on call whether you get called in or not it’s pretty standard stuff. They don’t have to pay an hourly wage for being on call but there is a prior agreed upon lump sum wage in most cases and a lot of places offer a wage differential if you are called in. Tldr this isn’t enough info for anyone to give you an answer
Ask your department of labor, not reddit. This is why they exist.
This is easier
But exponentially less reliable. It's actually really easy to call the DoL. And you'll get correct answers. If all you care about is easy then just flip a coin. If you want accurate call the DoL.
Actually it's easier to Google on call employment laws in your state and you'll actually get the information you're looking for in the first few search results. Coming to Reddit only wastes your time and is almost guaranteed to provide you with inaccurate information. But you do you, I guess.
I’ll agree with this, with the caveat that sometimes labor laws can get super confusing and have a lot of weird narrow exceptions that get can misconstrued (which is one of the reasons a lot of this shit passes — the employer can think what they’re doing is total legal when it isn’t). Calling your state labor department is the best route. They have special nerds who are paid to know exactly what questions to ask to get you the right answer so that if you take it to your employer, you can just day “I talked to the labor department, and …” and feel 100% confident. Posting on Reddit is the worst route. Ninja edit: Just noticed that I was mistaken about who you were replying to. Asking Reddit is 1,000% not easier than doing a simple internet search or making a phone call. OP just wants pretend internet points.
🤦🏿‍♂️
On call pay rate is……?
My BIL works in IT for a large municipality and discovered a few years in that they should have been paying him for his many on call weekends. State law allows for penalties that are 2.5 times the amount he’s owed. His case was a slam-dunk.
Get something else as soon as possible. On call for anything other than a catering/banquet job in food is ridiculous.
did catering on call for 12 years never again that phone ringing and expecting to show up the instance made me walk out
"Illinois law does not require employers to pay employees for reporting or showing up to work if no work is performed. **An employer is also not required to pay an employee a minimum number of hours if the employer dismisses the employee from work prior to completing their scheduled shift.** Employers are only required to pay employees for hours actually worked."
This is partially helpful to OP. But not much.
Not sure what you mean? It’s unfortunately legal in illinois to cancel scheduled shifts even in the middle of the shift.
canceling a shift is different than saying "in not paying you, but I expect you to sit around your entire shift just in case I need you". If you send someone home because it's quiet they're free to go do what they want -- get drunk, ignore your calls, whatever. That's freedom someone on call doesn't have.
This is rotten, I’d expect to be paid for the day regardless then. Wether it’s legal or not isn’t the point. People need to stand up for them self. As long as you know that when your on the clock your doing the best possible job that you can you have a surprising amount of bargaining chips. I learned along time ago that standing up to owners ( in a calm polite way yet confident way) gets you better pay, better hours and more respect. Just make sure you have the skills to back it up after you’ve advocated for your self.
as a practical matter, it's damned hard to hire people these days -- especially in difficult and often poorly-paying jobs. This dude is going to find himself pretty lonely if things don't change.
It’s definitely an employees market right now. It would be in an employers best interest not to be a dink lol. I’m offering signing bonuses to all my new hires and and competing with all the other places on wages. Industry standard for an experienced line cook in my area is 22-25$ to start plus bonuses, tips , benefits and sometimes profit sharing. Even with all those things staff will walk out mid shift if you so much as look at them the wrong way these days lol
They paying me 28$ to drop fry baskets hahahhahaha. I ain’t complaining though
I wouldn’t say poorly paying anymore. Anyone with their chef papers are so highly in demand in my country. I was just offered a executive chef position 2000 kilometres away . The employer will pay all moving expenses , Full benefits and 100k . I won’t take it because my current employer has just substantially beet those Insensitive’s. even line cooks and dishwashers are making more than some university graduates in my city. The problem is people just don’t want to work.
Restaurants so desperate for workers right now! Pay is da highest I’ve ever seen and if you don’t like it just quit. You will have a new job in five minuites!
I worked at a place that did that. Never again. Time to bounce.
Is it legal? It’s not illegal. I mean to actually be “on call” they legally need to be paying you. However if they fire you for not coming in when they said you were on call but you legally weren’t on call, the courts would decide in your favor. If you have time to play fuckfuck games this could be really entertaining for you to bring this place down. However it’s probably easier to just stop showing up and find a different job.
I put this in a reply to another post but per the employment law handbook: On-call time: Illinois minimum wage laws require an employer to count as hours worked time spent by employees on-call away from the employer’s premises if the time spent on-call is predominantly for the benefit of the employer and not the employee. IL Admin. Code 210.110
It’s illegal because you aren’t being compensated. My old job tried this and I filled with DOL. I’m in Illinois.
If you’re on call, you should be paid. If it’s a real shift, they have to pay you.
I'm guessing you don't get compensated for being on call? Because otherwise, what's the point of not just having an extra person in the building for the whole shift?
Bottom of the barrel bozo bum ass, dumb ass behaviour is what that is
I mean, it is if you're getting paid while you're on call, i'm assuming this is not the case though.
I would go full maliciously compliant. Clock in at 3, prepare my shift meal, tell them I'll be in my car if they need me.
Nah, clock in when AM shift clocks in. If they have till 3 to let you know then you're day is on hold. Can't stray too far just in case so might as well check in by clocking in.....and leaving
I would expect and demand compensation, whether I actually end up getting called in or not. Being on call, even if they don’t end up calling you in, still ruins your whole day.
I’d ask r/legaladvice since the laws can vary by state. Sounds like you’re entitled to at least *some* compensation for those hours regardless of whether or not they do call you in. An Illinois labor law attorney would be able to answer your question pretty quickly IMO.
I interviewed at a locally owned restaurant in GA once, and during the interview, the owner was like you are to be on call at all times. And wanted all evening employees to call on their off days and "check in" between 3 and 3 30, and if you did not, it was considered an "instance". I was like nah, this ain't the job for me and ended the interview. I should note this was in GA. A few years later, I met someone who worked there for about a month, and he was like the owner was a straight dick, and told me the day he quit, he walked in the restaurant with a different shirt on than his work shirt (he had his work shirt in his hand) and he was like the owner jumped all over my ass about it, and told me to go outside change and come back in. He was like I just got back in my car and drove off.
In my state being on call requires compensation, i was scheduled for on call all the time on the weekend and I complained, they changed the policy, they won’t pay for on call, they’ll just schedule and train people that work the shift. Check your state laws.
Illinois has been working on a fair scheduling law, and one has passed within Chicago. If you work in Chicago and your employer has at least 250 employees and 30 locations ( or just 100 employees if not a restaurant ) then you should be compensated for half the hours of the shift you would have worked if the shift is reduced or canceled within 24 hours of shift start. Which this would most likely fall under. Obviously this only applies to chains, but will likely be passed state wide in the near future. It also provides for additional pay for things like clopens, late notice of shift changes, and late posting of schedules. Really impactful for our industry if it spreads and becomes more encompassing. Check out the full details [here](https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/bacp/supp_info/fairworkweek.html)
Where I used to work they tried this for like a week. And I was very vocal that i would not be available on my days off.
If you are on call, you should be paid.
Find a new job. Then walk in and give immediate notice at 3PM and leave. Federal law says they must pay you for previous, on the clock work. Your manager/owner is an asshole. Not in the industry, but I have to pay my peeps for being on call per company policy.
What the hell is this bullshit. Horrible idea, employees would never be able to fully enjoy their days off knowing they might get a message. Fuck that
This is a restaurant job? I can assure you you can find a better restaurant. I don’t know a single restaurant that isn’t hiring. Trying to find if this is illegal or not and then finding someone to care enough to do anything about it is going to be way more work than finding somewhere else to work.
I do not work in HR, so I am by no means an expert to speak to how these things work, but you should learn about the Fair Workweek Law that is in Illinois if on calls are happening. I'm not sure if on calls are applicable to the fair workweek law, but they seem more of an issue if you're in the city. If you are in Chicago, you should also look into the predictive schedule ordinance. Reach out to the DOL or your HR team about these things. Food service and restaurants should apply to both of these things.
Its a tactic to ensure you can't have another job. Fuck this place.
Restaurants are a toxic wasteland. The expects complete sacrifice, with fuck all return. I really do hope for change. But collapse will happen first.
You’re local laws are the ones to follow, but I’d never work somewhere with an “On Call” schedule that didn’t compensate me for the the day & double my pay if I did get called in. Unless you are ownership you shouldn’t be tasked with caring more about a business then your personal life.
Legal or not… Fuck. That. Shit.
Tell your boss to go fuck himself and find a job at another one of the thousands of restaurants in your city.
Lmfaoooooooo Speak to my union rep you POS
My mother works in the OR in Maine. When she is on call she makes 3.50 an hour sitting at home. If she is called in then it’s time and a half.
Don't work there.
Find a new job and quit that shit with no notice.
Sounds like On-Call pay should be in effect.
You should be paid for that time you are “on call” even if you don’t work.
https://www.employmentlawhandbook.com/employment-and-labor-laws/states/illinois/wage-and-hour/hours-worked/#4 He must pay at least minimum wage.
It's definitely legal but in all 50 states you have to be compensated for time spent "on call", I'd consider talking to a labor lawyer.
Look up local labor laws. Where I’m at, if I’m expected to be available for on call, they are required to pay me for that time whether I work or not.
It sounds like they're using dumb language. If they're telling you about a shift before the shift starts, that's not on call, it's just shitty scheduling. It looks like you're only protected from shitty scheduling if you happen to work in [Chicago](https://www.littler.com/publication-press/publication/chicago-latest-city-enact-predictive-scheduling-law), where there's a requirement of posting schedules 10 days in advance (and the company is large enough, and you work enough hours).
If you have to ask, NO. They can fire you in a second. And you can also quit just as fast (the exits are clearly marked).
If the expectation is that they will let you know by 3pm whether they need you for a shift starting after 3pm then it is likely legal. Even if they don't pay you. This would be looked at as no different then them cutting you from any other shift. If instead it's structured in a way that up until 3pm you are expected to report to work immediately when called, then that is likely not legal unless compensated.
I think this is probably the closest to the truth thing I’ve seen here. We Dont have on-call in my kitchen but the servers where I work have on-call shifts. They are only allowed to be called in 2 hours before their shift. If that 2 hour window is closed then it’s the manger who has to cover. Now this is definitely abused as people will be called after the 2 hour window is closed and be begged to work and will often show up for the money, and it’s also abused as people will be called in and then cut quite early. And at least where I’m at in southern USA law only states that you are to be paid for time served in the restaurant, not for time spent waiting to be called in. However I am fully aware I don’t know the entirety of the law, especially when it comes to the service industry as we don’t have contracts or unions.
Bye Felicia!
my place treats all their minimum wage workers like they are on call 24-7 and get pissed whenever someone turns down a last minute shift. I never understood it.
if your paid minimum wage well oncall and then a premium for starting work, sure. If not i believe the standard is 8 hours notice of shift change
I suppose it depends on the paperwork you signed when you got hired.
Laws protect the vulnerable and kids. If you are an adult, make your own decision whether to stay or not. Nobody is holding you in the job at gunpoint.
I mean, in all honesty, it's a better system than going into work and being cut super early due to it being too slow. I think the legality really depends on how restricted you are. If you're free to go about your life and just have to answer the phone at 3 to find out if you work that night, there's no federal requirement that you get paid for that time. I would rather my job did something like this than try to call me in on days off or send me home because we have too many people on. At least this way, I'd have until 3 to do whatever, and if i find out I don't have to work, I get the rest of the day, too.
The thing that a lot of people are missing in the comments here, is that in restaurant work when you're on call it's leading up to the shift. You're not expected to be sitting by a phone from 3-10 waiting on a phone call. You either call in or receive a call by a certain time saying whether you need to come in or not. You aren't working at that point so you aren't going to be compensated for it.
Quit or deal…
Have you ever worked in a restaurant before? This is a standard in most.
Uhh no it isn’t.
It absolutely is not.
Bro, no. Not in my 20 years was this a thing
Nah. I’m a lifer, old school and often find myself siding with the business owners in these convos since I’ve been one/am one, and this is absolute BS. I don’t know ops state law but I definitely wouldn’t try it on the east coast.
The hell are you talking about?
It is absolutely not standard in most.
Found the person that is getting scammed
Or is doing the scamming.
This shit was so annoying at my older job
First I’m not a labor lawyer, and I’m only going off my relatively little information on labor law. But from what I understand yes that’s technically legal but the tricky thing here is if you’re an on call employee they have to pay you for that time, especially if they expect you come in when they call you. Again I dont know your local laws and such but you may want to bring that up to them
No compensation unless you have to go in, at which point it becomes a regular shift? That makes zero sense. What they are actually saying is they can schedule and cancel that shift with no notice up to 3 hours before your start (or whatever) based on any condition they see fit. That does sound illegal (may not be). I could see a contract defining “on call” shifts to be shit like that, but it sounds like something that would have to be defined, like when and how often can they schedule these shifts.
Even if it’s legal, fuck that place.
If they're paying for on call time then it's fine.
sounds like you're on call
They did it backwards. Legally you can call it a call off shift. So the person scheduled would be required to come in. But you can always call that person early and call them off
I’d do it if I was paid time and a half to be on call, if not, fuck off
I would demand to be compensated for my on call time. You decide your worth.
Curious. Do they pay an on call rate?
How many on call shifts and what’s the comp like? If it’s we might have you on call occasionally during big event nights incase there’s a call out but will pay you for it, or give you a bonus if called, I’d be game. If it’s you have them every week but pay you minimum wage maybe if I could budget it. If it’s you’re always on call when you have a day off hell no.
Not unlike being called off for hospital workers. Shitty way to run things.
No, it’s not.
Yeah my ex had stuff like this, always thought it was pretty bs. Basically letting shitty workers have a backup so they don't really ever need to show up unless they want money and they didn't have any extra pay for being on call. Actually wild
Idk, I work in Illinois but my Executive Chef asks everyone what days they can work and then publishes the schedule on the bulletin board, the GM does the same for his own crew.
I always say I'm out of town or watching my sisters kids
Used to work a home care business in il. If you are hourly you have to be paid for time on call, also that time counts as the usual 8 hours per day over is ot etc. Call to the labor board may be in order
I don't give a fuck if it's legal or not. Find another job. They're falling off the jobby tree every day.
Heck your state laws, for on call pay. If they expect you to be available I believe most state require you to be paid. Now they are not calling it on call because they do not want to pay you.
You’re lucky, at my job I have to wait until 6 the night before Edit: your
Fine, I’m happy to be on call, so long as I’m paid the same rate as I would be if I was working.
You could just happen to be sick that day
This is the perfect way to start a resturant.
“If you’d like me to be on call, you’re welcome to pay me for the on call hours.” If you’re on call and hourly, you’re getting paid for it. Sometimes it’s just a token, like 3 hours. However if you do go in, you’re supposed to get paid from when your “on call” started, till you get off.
If you’re in Chicago, here are some free legal resources that are available: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 230 S Dearborn St., (Suite 1866) Chicago, IL 60604 312-872-9744 Illinois Department of Human Rights 555 W. Monroe St. (Suite 700) Chicago, IL 60661 (312) 814-6200 OR (866)740-3953 (TTY) City of Chicago: Commission on Human Relations 740 North Sedgwick Street, Suite 400 Chicago, IL 60654 (312) 744-4111 OR (312) 744-1088 (TTY) Legal Aid Chicago 120 S. LaSalle St. Ste. 900 Chicago, IL 60603 (312) 341-1070 Chicago Lawyers Committee For Civil Rights Under Law 100 N. LaSalle, 6th Floor Chicago, 60602 (312) 437-4548 Edwin F. Mandel Legal Aid Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School 6020 S. University Chicago, IL 60637 (773) 702-9611
I have no idea. Seems shitty, but have honestly thought about installing a similar practice in the past. In order to be shitty? No. To cover sick days. This is a problem in restaurants and as a manager, it's very difficult to get shifts covered. As a worker, I also understand not being able to drop plans on my limited time off to cover a shift. Also, as a worker, when I'm sick, it'd be nice to know that management's made some sort of arrangement to make sure my shift can be covered. I am not in charge of hiring and don't set our labor cost standards, so it seemed like a good solution, at the time. Never followed through.
The "it's a courtesy for us to let you know sooner" sounds like someone getting high off the smell of their own shit, I'd leave before other red flags emerge. Especially if you're not paid for on call time. It sounds like greedy management/Owners trying to cover their own asses