Can My Employer Make Me Work Split Shifts in Arizona?
Adult employees in Arizona are at the mercy of employer scheduling when it comes to split shifts -- a work day split into two segments. Laws in the state provide employers a wide latitude to schedule workers to meet staffing needs, provided the industry does not have specific rules relating to rest period requirements to maintain worker safety.
Other People Are Reading
-
Employer Required Hours
-
Arizona does not have a law governing hours of employment for most industries operating in the state. Federal law, particularly the Fair Labor Standards Act, governs worker hours for the majority of industries. This means the majority of employers in Arizona may choose working hours for adult employees as each employer sees fit. This includes requiring employees to work split shifts. Employers are well within the boundaries of the law to terminate employees who refuse to work these shifts in industries where working hours have no restrictions for health and safety reasons.
Restricted Industries
-
Employment laws in Arizona restrict the number of work hours for employees in certain industries, including railroad conducting and underground mining, for health and safety reasons. According to Chapter Two, Article Five of the Arizona Revised Statutes, no employee engaged in railway operation, including conductors, engineers and telegraph operators, may work for longer than 16 consecutive hours without a nine-hour period of rest. Anyone allowing employees to violate this law is guilty of a petty offense in Arizona. Workers in underground mining facilities may not work more than 12 hours in any 24-hour period unless a collective bargaining agreement is in place that changes these working hours.
-
Overtime Pay and Breaks
-
Employers in Arizona requiring adult employees to work longer hours through split shifts must still accumulate weekly hours for overtime pay purposes as dictated by the Fair Labor Standards Act. This means an employer must pay employees 150 percent of hourly pay per hour over 40 worked over the course of a given week. Workers who believe employers are not paying wages appropriately should file a wage claim with the Industrial Commission of Arizona. Regardless of hours worked, labor laws in Arizona do not require employers to offer meal breaks and rest periods for adult workers.
Child Labor Laws
-
Scheduling child labor under age 16 for a split shift may be illegal depending on the time of year. According to Chapter Two, Article Three of the Arizona Revised Statutes, child employees under age 16 may not work longer than 40 hours per week when school is not in session, no longer than 18 hours per week when school is in session, not more than eight hours per day when school is not in session and not longer than three hours per day when school is in session. The law also restricts the time of day employers may schedule child labor. Failing to comply with any of these regulations can result in steep fines and loss of business licenses.
-
