Is A Seven Day Work Week Legal?
The federal government has passed labor and employment laws that regulate the number of hours an employee can work before they are paid over time. It also regulates the number of hours an individual can work to be considered part-time or full-time. This is especially important when it comes to the dreaded idea of a seven-day work week. States also have their own laws in regards to labor and employment. When it comes to the number of hours or days that an employee can work in a row their may be some different rules depending on your state. However, normally employees must be given a day of rest for every seven worked. Therefore a seven-day work week in this situation would be illegal. Generally, state labor laws require one day of rest in every seven. There are some jobs that are exempt from this requirement. For instance, the one rest day in seven does not apply to employees that are considered part-time (employees whose total hours of work during a calendar week (Sunday through Saturday) does not exceed 20 hours), so in those such situations a seven-day work week is legal. It also does not apply to classified farm employees, security guards, miners, and those who are in positions classified as professional, administrative, or executive. Also, employees that are on a temporary contract basis may have the ability to consent to longer hours if both the employer and the employee acknowledge the hours and length of the contract and the employee agrees. This of course does not mean an employee and employer can agree to an egregious contract, those will still be considered invalid.
So Overall…A 7 Day Work Week Legal Or Not? The Requirements for Breaks
If none of those exceptions apply than one of seven days is generally required. If an employee does work more than 20 hours each week than the employer basically is required to give that employee a consecutive 24-hour break. A 24-hour break is not considered valid for example to avoid a violation of the rules against a seven-day work week if an employee works until midnight and then reports back to work at midnight the next day.
Basically if an employee’s duties requires that they work 7 or more consecutive days in a row than the employer must also give the employee the same amount of time off in a calendar month to cover the days the employee was not able to get off when working those consecutive days. So if you work 22 days in a row you have to have 3 days off, and if an employee is working on the seventh day, they must be paid overtime. Time and a half for the first 8 hours of work is required if an employee works seven days in a row in work week. After those 8 hours’ double time must be paid to that employee. A failure to adhere to these or violate the other rules we mentioned in relation to a seven-day work week can lead to sever penalties for the employer.
Additional Information:
If you would like information on hiring teenagers or other minors check our article out!
