I work in a resturant. Yesterday two of my co-workers were suppose to start work at 5pm. At 4:58 they were going to clock in to begin work a...

Question

I work in a resturant. Yesterday two of my co-workers were suppose to start work at 5pm. At 4:58 they were going to clock in to begin work and our GM told them since its not busy they had to wait to clock in. He finally said around 5:30pm they could clock in because business was starting to pick up. Can our boss really do that?

Answer

It depends on your employment contract and understanding with your employer. If you are an "at will"

employee and there are no set times you have to be at work or leave every day and are an independent contractor, then both sides can dictate the terms of the working relationship.

As a matter of courtesy and to retain good and steady employees, your employer should put his employees "on call". If this does not work for you or others, simply look elsewhere for a job.