I have been working for this company for a little over a year. I work both in the office and on call. My work week begins at 5:00 pm on Thursday and ends at 5:00 pm on Monday. I am by myself in the office on Saturday and Sunday for 8 hrs with a 1 hour lunch break that I must be on call for. This totals 103 hours a week, 63 of witch I work by myself with no relief. I am compensated for any hours over 8 per day. I signed a contract agreeing to the hours stated. My contract made no mention of holidays or holiday pay. Our company does have a set holiday schedule where the office is closed. For the past year I have been forced to work every holiday with the exception of July 4th, because it fell on my scheduled off day.

For this Thanksgiving, I emailed my supervisor weeks in advance and asked what the holiday procedure would be. He asked me what I would prefer to work. I asked that I be allowed to be "on call" Thursday and Friday and resume my normal schedule on Saturday. The definition for "on call" as described to me when I accepted the position means handeling any "emergency calls" that are emailed or called in to our office. My supervisor emailed me back and agreed to my request and stated that the only way I would be called in to work would be if there was a major weather disaster, ( I work for a national roofing company).

I worked my usual Thurday schedule "on call" as requested. On Friday morning I began to get non-emergency calls and emails. I called the President of my company (it is a small organization and the President is who hired me) and told him about the calls and asked if I should reply to the emails stating that the office is closed and informed him of the agreed upon arrangement to handle only emergency calls. He said that this was not possible because we were not to let our customers know that the office was not open for business (their policy is 365 days, 24 hr service) and that I sould carry on as if it were a normal business day (doing the work that it takes 5 people to do on a regular day). He said that he would have my supervisor call me and we could discuss it.

When my supervisor called he told me that I had 2 options, either handle my responsibilities or he would accept my resignation. Now remember that I have a contract (that they refused to give me a copy of) that does not require me to work holidays. Given the 2 options, I resigned and stated that I would be in on Monday to turn in my equiptment and collect my things from my office. He stated that this was fine.

Severhours later, an employee of the copany was sent to my house to collect my laptop, phone, and key to the office. I called the President of the company and told him that I would gladly send back my phone and key, but the I would bring in the Laptop on Monday as agreed upon by my supervisor, because I had personal banking information on the computer and that the software on the laptop was purchased by me, not the copany and I was not reimbursed for it, so I wanted that deleted. He informed me that any and all information on the computer was now property of the company and that personal information was not to be stored there. This was not listed in my contract nor have I signed any document to this effect. I was then told that if I did not send it with the employee he would call the local authorities and say it was stolen and have me arrested. So, I sent the computer back.

He proceeded to threaten me and my husband and stated that if I showed up at the office to collect my belongings that he would call the poliece. (A little dramatic for someone simply quitting their job don't you think?) I did not hear back from him untill Saturday night when I received a call from the Sheriff's office stating that my boss had called in a complaint saying that he was afraid that either me or my husband would cause problems at work on Monday. I told the entire story to the officer and on his recomendation I will be escorted to the company on Monday morning by a uniform polieceman to collect my belongings.

Now that you have an overview of the situation, here are my questions.

1. Since I have a contract that does not state that I am responsible for working company observed holidays, and I was given the choice to either violate not only my contract, but my written agreement with my supervisor or quit, do you think I will be able to draw unemployment?

2. I received 2 weeks vacation in September, do they have to pay me for that time?

3. How may days does the company have to give me my final check?

4. Are their any laws reguarding how many hours a person is allowed to be on call straight with no undisturbed sleep or meal period?

5. Not only was my banking info on the computer, but I handle bills for my mother and my husband's internet business as well. The software was also registered and purchased by me. I did not sign anything stating that we were unable to keep personal files on our computers, nor that what was stored on them was property of the company. Can they legaly keep this highly sensitive and personal information, considering that my mother and husband were not employees?

I am very upset at how this situation was handled and I need to know where I stand legaly. Please help!!

Arkansas is not my state, so some of these answers will be "soft". Perhaps someone who knows more then I do about the state will weigh in.

1. Since I have a contract that does not state that I am responsible for working company observed holidays, and I was given the choice to either violate not only my contract, but my written agreement with my supervisor or quit, do you think I will be able to draw unemployment?


No idea. File the UI claim. It works or it does not. There is a complication that UI departments generally do not care about contracts one way or the other.

2. I received 2 weeks vacation in September, do they have to pay me for that time?


There is no federal requirement in this area. I am not finding any Arkansas specific law on the BNA payroll library website (a paid service).

3. How may days does the company have to give me my final check?


Per The Payroll Source Book (APA), "seven days".

4. Are their any laws reguarding how many hours a person is allowed to be on call straight with no undisturbed sleep or meal period?


No federal rules. While I cannot say as a fact that your state does not have such rules, this would be unusual for a state to have such rules. Most states have no problems at the labor law level with the employee working 24 x 7, even though this is physically impossible. California and Maine have weak rules in this area.

5. Not only was my banking info on the computer, but I handle bills for my mother and my husband's internet business as well. The software was also registered and purchased by me. I did not sign anything stating that we were unable to keep personal files on our computers, nor that what was stored on them was property of the company. Can they legaly keep this highly sensitive and personal information, considering that my mother and husband were not employees?


You made a bad decision putting your information on someone else's computer. The employer had a legal right to get their computer back on little or no notice. There is nothing in the law I am aware of that directly helps you in this situation. The computer never belonged to you and you never had a legal right to put personal information on it in the first place. You can try sending them a polite letter asking them to delete the information. If they actually do something illegal with the information you can try suing for damages, but so far you are the only one at fault on this particular issue. You can try hiring a lawyer. It probably will not accomplish something, but the lawyer probably needs the money.

Any time an employee is terminated, the employer always takes back the computer ASAP to prevent the employee from deleting work related material. I have never worked for a company where this was not true. There is very little in the way of federal law affecting the employer regarding employee privacy. What law there is covers different subjects then your issue. I have never heard of any law anywhere that says that if the employee uses the employer's phones or computers for personal use, that the employee has any right to keep that information private from the employer. What articles I have read strongly suggest the opposite.

Not your question, but there is a chance that you can try taking your employer to small claims court for unreimbursed business expenses, including the cost of work related software you purchased.

Thanks for your information. That's what I had assumed. I am just so upset at how this was handled. I was not unhappy with my job, I just wanted to have the same benefits as everyone else. Everyone else in the copany gets paid holidays, and I just don't understand why they do not think I am entitled to them as well.

I am going to try and have an meeting with my employer tomorrow morning, while being escorted by the sheriff's office, and see if I can get anything done about the computer. I don't think it's unreasonable to ask them to delete the information. It's not like they can do anything with it legaly. I am protected in that aspect.

Thanks for your information. That's what I had assumed. I am just so upset at how this was handled. I was not unhappy with my job, I just wanted to have the same benefits as everyone else. Everyone else in the copany gets paid holidays, and I just don't understand why they do not think I am entitled to them as well.

Paid holidays can be complicated. Exempt Salaried employees only have certain restrictions on having their salary docked. Past that there is no legal requirement that anyone ever receive paid holidays (or most benefits). It is not impossible that a benefit plan (including holiday pay) could violate some specific law, but this is very not automatic. For example, while the employer does not have to give people on FMLA holiday pay, the employer cannot legal do this but pay holiday to people on other types of leave. The employer can legally for example, give holiday pay to office workers and not factory workers, but could not legally for example, give paid holiday pay to men only and not women (Title VII violation). Most "discrimination" is in fact no illegal on it's face.

But all of the employees in the company get holiday's off. I am the only one that is required to work. And again, that was not in my contract. I just moved to this town about a year ago and all of the other employees are either old school buddies, relatives, or family friends. They have 3 offices, one in California, one in Chicago and the main office is in Arkansas. None of the employees in any other office are told, not asked but told, to work on holidays except for me. My question is, why was I being singled out? Isn't that descrimination?

I don't know. Maybe I am letting my emotions get in the way of my reasoning. I am just so hurt by all of this. I really gave this job my all, and when I was forced to make a decision between my family and my job, it was if I had stolen from the company. We were even told that If my husband tried to come with me to collect my things tomorrow they would have 3 or 4 guys there waiting on him. And he had the nerve to call US rednecks?

I just don't understand why he would threaten us with physical harm. Unless he is scared of my husband or what I know about the company.

My question is, why was I being singled out? Isn't that descrimination?


Probably. But not all discrimination is illegal. If that sounds familar it is because I am repeating myself.

I have worked for employers who had me work holidays because I was single. Being "single" or "married" for that matter is not a legally protected characteristic. It was perfectly legal in my case for my to employer to use a non-legally protected characteristic as a basis for discrimination. Any reason not formally protected by law is a legal basis for discrimination.

Lets assume that you are indeed being discriminated against. Which law do you think your employer is breaking? For example, Title VII protects people for (among other things) for discrimination based on sex, religion and national origin. Many states have a Public Policy rules that might protect an employee for being discriminated against for filing a Worker's Compensation claim.

Based on what you have said however, I cannot see any particular illegal discrimination. Of course, most of your postings seem to be unrelated to discrimition per se at all.