Is it true that it's illegal for an employer to make you work more than 8 hours a day?

Question

Is it true that it's illegal for an employer to make you work more than 8 hours a day?

Answer 1

NO thats not illegal... But for every 4 hrs i think you get 1/2 hr break or something like that.... But its not illegal for them to make you work overtime.... thats why they give you overtime pay......

Answer 2

They generally have to pay overtime after a certain number of hours. These rules vary from state to state. Look at the poster of working conditions that the employer is required to post somewhere at the work place.

Answer 3

it depends on your AGE and the state

in every state if you are under 16 and school is out of session then you can not work more then 8 hours a day. when school is in session you can only work 8 hours on Saturday or Sunday and only 3 hours any other day.

in many states those who are 16 or 17 may not work more then 8 hours a day.

http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/state/nonfarm...

if it is overtime depends on what state you are in most states do not mandate overtime on a daily basis.

breaks are based on state law only a few states require any breaks for adults but all states require breaks for minors.



a little more detail would go a long way to getting you an accurate answer........................

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this is a list of each states department of labor websites and you could check for yourself:

http://www.dol.gov/esa/contacts/state_of...

Answer 4

Any employer can work you as long as they want to and they can also refuse you to take a break.

My mother before she passed away,the company she worked for made her work 7 days straight at 9hours per day to get production done and merchandise out.

You might want to look at your companys handbook and look at the legal information posted in each employers break room.

Answer 5

no its legal,  you just should get paid overtime if its more than 40 a week- (or what your state law number is)

Answer 6

No, there is no limit on the amount they can make you work.  But they have to pay for overtime (OT).  

Usually there are two levels protecting the amount of hours worked by employees, federal and state.

Federal level:  if your employer is big enough and your position is not declared as "exempt" (and the law specifies which ones are), your employer would need to pay overtime after 40 hours in a week.  There is no daily limitations.  So you could end up working 20 hours in two days foe a week, have the rest of it off, and would get no OT.

Under federal law, OT means 1.5 x time worked in excess of 40 hours in a week.

To cover the holes in the federal law, many states jump in with their own law, but to cover other OT limitations.  In many states excess of 8 hours in a day is OT.  Also, once you finish your day of work, some states control how soon you can be called back to work.  In this fashion, if you don't have a rest period of a specific amount (12 hours in many cases), then the employer incurs in OT for the period that you should have been resting (even when the rule of of daily OT was not broken).  This avoids employers letting you work until really late at night and scheduling you to work really early next day.  In addition, some states factor in resting breaks and meal periods, etc.  OT for most states is like at the federal level, 1.5 x OT.  There are states where OT is more than 1.5 x OT.

The US territory that probably accounts for the most complex OT rules is Puerto Rico, where they have an 8 hour workday in a 24 hour period, with breaks and meal periods rule.  The net effect here is that, if the employee does not work the same schedule everyday, there will be OT.  They also have a weekly rule.  While highly protective, not all employees were 100% pleased, as sometimes they needed the flexibility of coming late (to take the child to a doctor, etc.), and later complete their 8 hours of work (by getting out later than regular schedule).  Employers would not allow emplyees to finish the 8 hours and force employee to go home at regular schedules, in fear of having to pay 2 x OT.  

But Puerto Rico rules are not the most complex out there.  There are unions with very complex requirements.  They might have per day rules.  In this fashion, OT in a Monday may be less than in a Tuesday, but in Sundays OT is trippled.  They can come with Shift rules, where OT is more after three hours of OT (or after a specified time), etc.  These highly specialized rules can usually only be implemented by programs provided by Kronos.  By the way, Kronos no longer provides for the PR market.  Only ADP's Time Saver program attempts to address this market.

UPDATE:

I worked 5 years implementing time + attendance systems, I know a little about this issue.

Answer 7

If you are under 18, it might be, depending on where you live.  Otherwise, there's no 8 hour limit.  If you are being required to work more hours than you are willing to, your option is to quit.

Answer 8

no, but they do have to schedule that you have breaks during those 8 hours, and if you are paid by the hour they are, by law, required to pay you overtime when you work more than forty in a week, at least in georgia and virginia  

Answer 9

michr is the only correct answer so far

the number of hours that are allowed to be scheduled and worked in a day vary by age and jurisdiction.

Answer 10

I dont think so I think they legally need to allow you to have a break if you work this many hours though

Answer 11

yes it is that is called slavery.  you dont have to work for anyone if you dont want.  if they make you it is illegal.  slavery was outlawed during the civil war.  you should be free to leave at any time.  how are they forcing you to stay?  you should call the cops immediately. i didnt know places like this still existed in this country.

oh and also, its illegal for an employer to MAKE you work at all. not just over 8 hours

Answer 12

Of course not, an employer can schedule you for as many hours as he or she likes as long as they are following other rules about breaks and paying for over time which is accrued from working more than a set number (usually 40) hours in one week.  

Answer 13

No, that's nonsense.  An employer can ask you to work 18-hour days if they want to.  You don't have to work them, but then they don't have to pay you!