Most people will decide to work as many hours in a day as possible to earn more money to fund their lives. However, there are legal restrictions governing the number of hours people can work in a day. Depending on some factors, there are some jobs that require them to work overtime.
Jobs in service, medical, and retail may expect you to work longer hours. Since working hours are relative and depend on the employer and type of work, you may want to know how many hours you can legally work. To find out more about it, you can dive into our post below. Here you go!
How Many Hours Straight Can You Legally Work?
Legally, there is no restriction on the number of hours you can work in a day since it will depend on the needs of the business. The workers can work the full 24-hour period if they want to. However, they’re also entitled to overtime pay and potentially other benefits.
Of course, there will be circumstances that require you to work overtime, particularly in a new business that still needs development. Overtime work commonly occurs in the food industry and the service sector.
On average, workers in the United States will work 40 hours per week. If they work more than 40 hours per week, it is considered overtime, and the employer has to pay them overtime.
A standard shift is anything between 6 and 8 hours, and it is considered an extended or unusual shift. As a result, that’s a shift with fewer than 40 hours. If you’re required to work overtime after working eight hours in a day, you deserve an additional salary, which is an extra third of your hourly wage.
Due to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), most companies will never force the workers to work an obscene amount of hours in a day, and it also does not put a cap on how many hours a worker can work in a single day.
In addition, the employers will have to pay for their overtime pay. If you’re not willing to work more than forty hours a week, you have the right to decline it, but it is not illegal. However, it can cause issues with job security when you decline a request for overtime from your employer. Later, your employer will likely terminate your contract or even ask you to quit your job.
Even though there’s no federal or state law limiting the number of hours in a workday, workers under 16 years old are not allowed to work longer than 8-hour days.
Some occupations, such as truck drivers, may have their own regulations for working hours. However, truck drivers can only drive for up to 11 hours in a period of 14 consecutive hours. Of course, truck drivers need to take 10 hours off after the 14-hour driving window has expired.
Do Workers Under 16 Have Legally Limited Hours of Work?
Of course, yes! Workers who are under 16 years old have limited hours of work in a single day. Under federal law, those restrictions depend on whether school is in session. Well, workers in this age group can work up to:
- Eight hours daily when there are no school sessions
- Three hours daily when there are school sessions, including Fridays
However, those hours should be outside of school hours, and they also need to be between:
- 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
- 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. If the date is between June 1 and Labor Day
There will be several exceptions that allow workers under 16 to work eight hours in a single day while school is in session. It will happen due to the following reasons:
- A worker has graduated from high school.
- A worker has completed the eighth grade and has been exempted from compulsory school attendance, and his or her job is in accordance with school attendance law.
- A worker has child support, and the proper state officers have waived school attendance requirements for him or her.
- A worker is subject to a state or federal court order that prohibits him or her from attending school.
- A worker has been expelled from school and cannot attend another school.
Well, if state laws are stricter, there will be more limitations to follow.
Can an Employer Make You Work 16 Hours in a Day?
Technically, yes! Your employer can make you work 16 hours a day. But, you shouldn’t worry since you’re entitled to overtime pay. However, it is not likely that you will be forced to work 16 hours straight since they must pay you more than they can pay someone else who has not worked overtime.
According to the FLSA, you will receive overtime pay for working more than eight hours, and you deserve a break later. This law essentially protects workers and employers from being exploited, as well as their rights as employees.
The basic and legal requirements of the FLSA enforce that employers have to pay all workers doing overtime work at a rate of 1.5 times their hourly rate, equal pay, the minimum wage in each state, and rules on child labor. It was first passed in 1983 and applies to all states.
A bookworm and researcher especially related to law and citizenship education. I spend time every day in front of the internet and the campus library.
