Q: Hello, my pay has been lowered and now I have to be on call 24/7 every next week, while not paid on days when no calls.
1. New manager came in this year and company lowered our base pay from $25 to $15, saying they will rise commission but now I make actually 25-30% less than last year.
2. We are really slow lately and have not enough work (average just 20-30h week), so company pays me often nothing or just 1-2h per day, while I have to be available at least 8-10h, and on myon call week (which is every next week) almost 24/7, we don’t have calls during night so far, but some guys had, so I have to be ready for that.
3. Additionally to no work company wants me to come 3x a week for meetings for 30min, which they pay $7 but it takes for me 2h to get to shop and home, now company planning to take measures to those who not attending, they threatened us with that, and most things are on company meeting videos on youtube.
I have at least two coworkers not satisfied with this and few quit already. Can I quit and collect unemployment while moving and looking for new job? Should I get lawyer for this?
A:
Your post contains many issues.
First, you are likely an at will employee, meaning your employer can change the terms and conditions of your employment, including the hours you are asked to work and your pay, at any time and for any reason or even for no reason at all. Therefore there is likely nothing unlawful about your recent pay decrease, or the decrease in the number of hours you are given to work.
Next, there is no legal minimum for the number of hours you can be asked to work, so only working 1 to 2 hours per day is not unlawful. However, if you are scheduled to work a certain number of hours and you are sent home before the end of half of that scheduled shift, you may be entitled to Reporting Time Pay. See here for more information on Reporting Time Pay: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_ReportingTimePay.htm
Next, being on call is inconvenient, but you are not entitled to be paid while waiting on call unless your other life activities are significantly impaired by the employer requirements, such as limiting where you must be to take the call, or other significant limitations. If you can still go to the grocery store or mall, you are likely not going to be entitled to pay for being on call. That said, you must be paid for all time you are actually working, even if for a few minutes to answer a call.
Next, it is lawful for the employer to require employees to attend mandatory meetings. It is not the employer's legal duty to pay the employee for more than just the hours the employee must be in attendance at the meeting. Commute time and and from the location is not compensible.
Your option as an at will employee is to find another place to work. Whether you will receive unemployment insurance benefits when you quit is difficult to answer with certainty. Generally quitting a job disqualifies you from UI benefits. However, there are some causes that are considered good enough to avoid the voluntary quit exclusion from benefits. Take a look here to understand the concept of voluntary quit as the EDD uses that term: https://www.edd.ca.gov/uibdg/Voluntary_Quit_VQ_5.htm
Good luck to you.
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