It’s been a long day at work, and you’re happy to see it winding down. You just want to go home and relax, work on personal projects, spend time with your family and much more.
But then, near the end of the day, your boss comes up to you and says that they need you to work overtime, so you’re going to have to stay a few hours late. You explain that, while you’re happy for the opportunity to make time and a half, you would rather just be done with work when your shift was scheduled to end.
However, what you don’t expect is for your boss to tell you that this is not an overtime request. It is mandatory. You are being scheduled to work overtime and you don’t have a choice. Is this something that your boss can legally do?
Overtime can be mandatory in Michigan
Under Michigan’s employment laws, an employer can schedule you for overtime whenever they want, and they can ask you to work overtime if they need you. They can also make this overtime mandatory, meaning that you could lose your job if you refuse to do it.
That certainly doesn’t mean that you can’t refuse. But there may be ramifications. The basic legal right that you have with overtime is simply that you’re supposed to be paid extra money for extra hours. But those extra hours may not be quite as optional as you had always assumed.
When you run into employment questions or if you believe your employer is taking advantage of you, then it’s quite important to take the time to look into all of your legal options.