Is On-Call Scheduling Legal?

Certain careers come with the knowledge that workers will have to work in an on-call fashion, and many are related to helping in emergency healthcare situations or public safety positions.

Occupations such as nursing or law enforcement know that being on call is part of the job description before they commit to the profession.

However, in an effort to save money, often at the expense of their employee’s personal lives, many retail companies have adopted a version of on-call scheduling to suit their own needs.

What is On-Call Scheduling?

On-call scheduling or on-call work is when an employee is required to call in to their employer or check by email or text message before their scheduled shift starts.

If the store expects to need extra help because they are busy, they ask for the retail worker to come in for their shift. If the store is not busy, they tell workers they do not need to report for their shifts and are not paid for the time that they had to plan in their schedule.

As you can imagine, this causes a lot of instability in retail workers’ personal lives, and their finances can be severely impacted. Retail workers are asked to block of large parts of their life out and are not allowed to make plans of any kind at that time.

For retail workers with families, this can make childcare arrangements nearly impossible, and school and activity planning is difficult. And for all retail workers, scheduling time into their week and being told at the last minute that there is no need to report to work can severely limit income.

Additionally, retail workers are not able to schedule alternate work with other employers during the time they must reserve for their potential work schedule.

Several Retail Chains Change On-Call Policies

Over the last couple of years, a number of large retailers have moved away from on-call scheduling. Most of them did not do so out of the kindness of their hearts, however.

In April 2015, New York’s Attorney General issued warning letters to more than a dozen retailers informing them that they may be violating New York laws.

The companies who received the warning letter included:

• Target
• Gap
• Abercrombie & Fitch,
• Ann Taylor, Loft
• Burlington Stores
• Crocs
• JC Penney
• J Crew Group
• L Brands Inc. (The Limited Inc., Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works)
• Sears
• TJX Cos. (TJ Maxx, Home Goods, Marshall’s, Sierra Trading Post)
• Urban Outfitters
• Williams-Sonoma

Later in the year, Gap, which includes Banana Republic and Old Navy, announced that they had decided to phase out on-call scheduling for their employees.

Victoria’s Secret and Abercrombie & Fitch announced their plans to end on-call scheduling, and Starbucks ended their on-call practices in 2014.

Filing an On-Call Scheduling Lawsuit

In general, the legality of on-call scheduling is dependent upon state laws. In some states, on-call scheduling may be permitted, and in others it may not.

Many workers may not be aware that on-call scheduling could potentially be violating wage and hour laws.

If you are an on-call worker who is required to participate in on-call scheduling to determine your work schedule, you may have a legal claim.

An attorney specializing helping workers with on-call scheduling requirements can review your case for free and can help you decide if you qualify to take legal action against your employer.