In a certain town in Massachusetts, beginning in May, we will be on "summer hours". They are explicit in the contract 6:45 AM -2:45 PM, with 1/2 hour for lunch. Non summer hours are 7AM-4PM. The "boss" wants to keep 4 men on in each dept. until 4PM, paying them OT. Can they be forced to work the OT?
His reasoning is for "coverage".
Also, during the winter season, is there a limit on how many hours a driver of a snowplow needs to work before he can say he is too tired to continue?

Since you say there is a contract, it will be necessary for you to show the contract to a local attorney to get an answer to your questions. Normally mandatory overtime is legal but the contract could countermand that. We can't say for certain, however, since we have not read it.

Sorry, but I don't know the answer to your second question.

Thank you for your info cbg, and to elaborate, there is nothing in our contract that would countermand that. My question now is, should't this be a bargaining issue for the upcoming contract renewal? Several employees work part time summer jobs that start at 3PM, and having to stay until 4PM approximately every other week poses a problem.

Sure, it can be an issue in the next contract negotiation, but it isn't addressed in the current one. And really, it isn't the employer's problem if employees have other jobs. I worked my share of full-time + a part-time jobs in my younger days, and if I had to work overtime at my full-time job, I just called my part-time employer and told them I would be late.

For CBG

In Ma., I was always under the impression that an employer could only mandate overtime if the possibility of such overtime was made a condition of employment when the employee accepted the position (non exempt/hourly).

In other words, you interview for a position and there is no mention of mandatory overtime being a possibility with this position. You accept the position. Then the employer says you have to come in on Saturday, or you have to stay 2 additional hours tonight, or some other similiar scenario "requiring" overtime.

Am I incorrect in thinking the above to be true.

Regards,

Steve

Wingman, yes you are. Sorry. There is are no such laws.

Agreed. There is no such law in MA or any other state. Unless there is a binding contract or CBA that says otherwise, or you are in one of the VERY few industries where a regulatory agency (example, the FAA for airline pilots) has placed limits for overtime due to public safety factors, mandatory overtime is legal in all 50 states, regardless of whether it was mentioned pre-hire or not.

Pattymd/CBG,

Thanks for the responses. I appreciate it.