Human Resource Blog

Obligated by Schedule to Work 7 days

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My question, from the state of Georgia, is it illegal for an employer to obligate an employee to work 7 days in a row?

There is nothing illegal about a Georgia employer scheduling a worker 7 days in a row. In fact, there would be nothing illegal about a Georgia employer scheduling a worker 365 days in a row, every year.

Only a few states in the US have a law requiring employees to have one day a week off. Usually those are called “one in seven” laws, because they require that workers be given one day’s rest in seven.

Illinois has a “one in seven” law.

However, Georgia has no such law. There is also no federal law that requires an employer to give workers a day off. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act or FLSA, scheduling is strictly a private matter between the employee and employer.

A few states have specific laws that require employers to pay a premium to employees who must work on Sunday, in the retail trade. However, Georgia is not among them.

Under federal law, Georgia employers must pay workers overtime after 40 hours. This law applies to employers with $500,000 in annual revenue, or who do business across state lines. Most employers will hire additional workers, rather than consistently pay 16 hours or more of overtime each week. But, there is no law prohibiting them from doing so.

The 5 or 6 day workweek is very common, but it is not a legal requirement for most industries.

OSHA and the Department of Transportation limit the number of consecutive days that employees in a few industries, such as truck drivers or airline pilots can work. However, the majority of employees are not covered under these regulations.