Employees Rights in an Emergency?

Waiting-for-Ivan asks: "In Florida in the past month and a half, we have survived 2 hurricanes. During the last one I was within the areas with a hurricane warning (i.e. hurricane conditions are expected within 24 hours). My company (who will remain unnamed) wanted everyone to come in. Those who did not come in had their pay docked (salary or hourly didn't matter) and threatened with loss of their pay for Labor Day. We are not an emergency facility whose services are required during an emergency. Is this legal? Can they make us come in during a hurricane warning (or any other environmental emergency) and if we refuse can they punish us for not doing so? Do we as employees have any rights (and can they dock salaried employees so easily)? What laws are in affect explaining these circumstances?

Comments

Workers' rights?

[macdaddy357]

Workers' rights? You must have forgotten that you live in the United States of Avarice. Now grab your pick axe, and get back to mining that salt.

What about the hidden costs of having you come in?

[AnwerB]

Whether it's legal or not, the management must be fools not to consider what this does to morale!

I guess it's harder to quantify human resources, enthusiasm, and loyalty than missed hours...

not if evey choice is the same

[dj_virto]

Employers are pretty good at working together to lower wages and benefits. If we as employees could have half as much solidarity and less short term kiss-ass we'd all be much futher along. Workers rights are achieved only by fighting for them, and that's the only inevitablity here.

Re:Yes... you can seek employment somewere else

[archaica]

You know, I'm mighty tired of hearing this perennial bromide - Frankly, it's NOT that easy for employees to switch jobs (Especially in this market), and if you think ANY market is a "free" market you need a lesson in real-world economics.

Re:Employment At Will

[the eric conspiracy]

So you think the terms of your job should be "protected" by the government, huh?

They already are, in many ways. For example, your employer is bound by the Civil Rights Act, OSHA, Fair Labor Standards Act, the Pension Protection Act, Disability, Workers Comp, Unemployment Insurance and so on. Under the FLSA if you are a salaried employee you probably cannot be docked in pay for anything less than a full day absence. Docking your pay beyond that is likely to be a violation of the FLSA and you should contact a lawyer or your state department of labor.

Re:Similar situation last year

[mpmansell]

I don't know about the US, but if I tell an employee to take the day off because of circumstances, it is not his responsibility and he can still expect to get paid.

If I am told by my boss to take the day off, then I will expect to be paid. If it is a problem for the company then it is their problem if they cannot control the chain of command.

If a company doesn't accept it, then I suspect that all employees getting director level confirmation of any management request will soon cure them of that silliness and make them more consistent in their interpretation of the command chain :)

Labor Unions; the only thing between us getting be

[dpilot]

If only that's what Labor Unions really did. That's their origin, and that's what they were/are meant to do, and that's what's badly needed, today.

But IMHO, there's a class of people that can smell money, and insinuate themselves into money flows. Some time ago, they smelled Union Dues, and the res is, sadly, history. Also unfortunately, some time back they began to smell Health Care, too.