No Day Off...EVER!

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BC9696

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My older brother has worked his entire like at a water treatment plants. Two of them to be exact. You know...that's where everything that ever got flushed down a toilet ends up. He is now 59 yrs old. The staff at his plant has been getting smaller & smaller over the tears...not because of amazing technological breakthroughs that require less operators but rather, because of budget cuts and a desire to drive oldtimers out and bring in new (cheaper-less trained) labor.

Recently my brother has been given a laptop that he must carry with him at all times on his two days off. Whenever he receives a notice on his cell phone, he must login to the company website and if he is unable to resolve whatever issue arises via keyboard, he is required to return to the plant and resolve it there. This basically strips him of any true free time. I think the stuff that runs downhill to his plant has backed up into his superiors and is patently unfair. He believes they are doing everything they can to make him quit. Does he have any options here? Isn't this somehow illegal? Aren't all workers entitled to some true days off? BTW...the damn phone rings almost every time he gets a day off. He is rarely unyanked by this electronic lease they've got him on.
Thank you for your input,
Bruce
 
Whether or not employees are entitled by law to a day off is state specific. What state is your brother in?
 
Yes,very employee friendly state. But even so, it isn't going to say exactly what you want it to say.

While CA does have laws about time off for employees, in actual practice if he gets four days off a month, the employer is legal. This would INCLUDE a day when he was on call but did not actually get called in to work. So even if he's carrying that laptop around, if he goes a day when he doesn't have to open it, that's a day off under the law. And he only has to have four of them a month to be legal. There is NO state where simply being on call, which is what this is, is compensable time.
 
Hmmm

Okay, that surprises me. Now, suppose he is always opening the laptop everyday he's off...would that be the same as working everyday? Should he document this somehow so if & when they try to terminate him he has recourse? What's the best way for him to do this? TIA
 
Is he being REQUIRED to open the laptop and perform work EVERY SINGLE DAY?

I don't want to get into hypotheticals.
 
Reality

He's had to use the laptop all but one time and has had to travel 30 minutes to work 20% of the time (on his day off) to deal with emergencies. It's not hypothetical at all...but I'm sure any such claim that may arise would require proof he actually performed these duties. No time clock. How should he document these events?
 
The way you worded it, it sounded hypothetical.

One more question; is he exempt or non-exempt?
 
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