This is a question geared towards the state of georgia:

My boyfriend works for a private college in Georgia and makes frequent trips to Atlanta to help with a branch of the college. When he is up there he is "forced" to work 12-20 hr days. These trips are now becoming more frequent, he now goes up to two times a month. Yes he gets paid overtime but how much is too much? What are his rights as an employee? :confused: :confused:

His employer can require him to work long hours, as long as they are paying him appropriately. If I were his employer, my concern would be someone working long hours followed by a long commute home. However, some employers do not feel that is important.

Could you direct me to some more official Georgia work law link proving that statement true Lillian?

Maybe like from a Georgia Dept. of Labor site or something?

Please don't take this in any type of offense, but I don't know who you are, and as far as I can see your just a forum moderator.
I would like to see that in writing someplace in a more "official" capacity.

It just doesn't make sense to me how that would be allowed...
especially by OSHA standards of safety.

I'd really like to see something to back that up because I'm faced with a double shift this coming week of a TWENTY-ONE hour straight work schedule in one day on my new job.
Doing very physical work.

And somehow that's GOTTA be against the law.

If not... it damned well should be.

I can't see how it would be allowed for someone to have to work 21 hours straight doing exhaustive work, then be allowed to drive home afterward and possibly wrap their car around a telephone pole coming home from work in the middle of the night.

(and again... not trying to offend or invalidate you Lillian... just want to know where you base that from.)

Thanks.

Could you direct me to some more official Georgia work law link proving that statement true Lillian?

Maybe like from a Georgia Dept. of Labor site or something?

Please don't take this in any type of offense, but I don't know who you are, and as far as I can see your just a forum moderator.
I would like to see that in writing someplace in a more "official" capacity.

It just doesn't make sense to me how that would be allowed...
especially by OSHA standards of safety.

I'd really like to see something to back that up because I'm faced with a double shift this coming week of a TWENTY-ONE hour straight work schedule in one day on my new job.
Doing very physical work.

And somehow that's GOTTA be against the law.

If not... it damned well should be.

I can't see how it would be allowed for someone to have to work 21 hours straight doing exhaustive work, then be allowed to drive home afterward and possibly wrap their car around a telephone pole coming home from work in the middle of the night.

(and again... not trying to offend or invalidate you Lillian... just want to know where you base that from.)

Thanks.


Well, considering that Lillian answered that question almost 3 years ago, the laws may have, in fact, changed.

However, there is no law in Georgia making this practice illegal as long as the proper pay is given to the employee. In fact, there is no law against working an employee 365/24/7.

There are exceptions - airline pilots and long distance truckers come to mind.

There are no laws to quote. It is legal because nothing in the legal code makes it illegal.

One more point.

It is not your employer's responsibility to make sure you are safe to drive home. You are an adult. If you are not safe to drive, it is your responsibility to find other transportation.

I'm faced with a double shift this coming week of a TWENTY-ONE hour straight work schedule in one day on my new job.
Doing very physical work.

And somehow that's GOTTA be against the law.

If not... it damned well should be.

Companies are legally allowed to do stupid things. If you want to change the way things are, you can lobby your state and federal legislators. That is not difficult. You send a letter or email and get other folks to do the same. Ask for some reasonable change in the law, like a cap on mandatory overtime or daily overtime (which encourages the company to find someone else to do the job).

(Didn't notice the date on Lillian's reply. Sorry.)

So then basically what your saying, is that someone let's say mixing drugs at a pharmaceutical plant, operating a crane (or any heavy machinery for that matter), running rollercoasters at an amusement park, working at a nuclear reactor plant, etc., etc., etc.,
isn't covered under some kind of state or federal standards/laws in terms of what's SAFE, as to how many hours they should be asked to (no...forced) to work without the fear of losing their jobs...?

Then what the Hell is OSHA for?

And as far as drives home, as far as I know, and at least back in my own home state... employers were responsible for you during their drive to and from work in terms of legalities with their insurance companies.
Let's say for instance if an employer said it was OK for a worker to drink a few beers on the job, and he was killed later in a car crash driving home.

And what then if an employee had no other means of transportation other than his own car after a 21 hour shift?
If he refused to work it out of fear of an accident...
the employer could legally fire them?

So basically what your saying is that an employer can force you to work for let's say, oh... I dunno, let's get really silly here... 72 hours straight... with no food or rest breaks, and not be held responsible for an accident driving home afterwards...?
Or if he got hurt on the job falling off a ladder or into a vat of molten steel after like hour 68 of being forced to work that kind of shift...?

What is the Dept. of Labor for then?

I bet you a good lawyer could find some legal codes stating differently,
after a family sues the balls off a company for their relative dying in a car crash after being forced to work absurdly long workshift!
And I could pretty much be sure he'd win.

Again, not trying to invalidate all the 'hearsay" here fellas...
but if there is no actual law against it in the books any place,
(that you can show proof of.)
then there at least has gotta be something somewhere in writing that would allow it.

Irreguardless of there being any codes or laws against it...
there has to be something in writing that would make it OK.

That's how lawyers win cases. Not necessarily by always showing an example of showing proof of something... but by showing proof against it.

In the mean time... I think next friday... I'm screwed if I want to keep this crappy job for now.

Thanks anyhoo.

An employee's transportation issues are not the responsibility of the employer. If an employee does not show up for work, he/she can be terminated.

The labor laws are written so that if an action is not specifically named as illegal, it is legal.

Your options are to write your congressman or, using the power of collective bargaining, try to convince your employer to change their ways.

Of course, your final option is to vote with your feet.

Just for your information, this is the federal law...Fair Labor Standards Act or FLSA ...


778.102 Application of overtime provisions generally. Since there is no absolute limitation in the Act (apart from the child labor provisions and regulations thereunder) on the number of hours that an employee may work in any workweek, he may work as many hours a week as he and his employer see fit, so long as the required overtime compensation is paid him for hours worked in excess of the maximum workweek prescribed by section 7(a). The Act does not generally require, however, that an employee be paid overtime compensation for hours in excess of eight per day, or for work on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays or regular days of rest. If no more than the maximum number of hours prescribed in the Act are actually worked in the workweek, overtime compensation pursuant to section 7(a) need not be paid. Nothing in the Act, however, will relieve an employer of any obligation he may have assumed by contract or of any obligation imposed by other Federal or State law to limit overtime hours of work or to pay premium rates for work in excess of a daily standard or for work on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, or other periods outside of or in excess of the normal or regular workweek or workday. (The effect of making such payments is discussed in Secs. 778.201 through 778.207 and 778.219.)[46 FR 7309, Jan. 23, 1981]

Try some work ethic. There is nothing wrong with a good hardworking day.