For most Chicago residents, a job is their path to regular income and financial stability for them and their families. When a person has a job, they have a way to earn money and provide for themselves and those that they love. Though their job may not be where they want to spend all of their time, a person may appreciate their work and the benefits that it provides them.
Jobs can be demanding, though, and employers can sometimes ask major concessions of workers who are employed by them. In some situations, employers may violate laws and break regulations regarding when and for how long their workers may be on the job. One Illinois law, known as the One Day Rest in Seven Act, can be violated by unscrupulous employers who take advantage of their employees.
An overview of the One Day Rest in Seven Act
The One Day Rest in Seven Act has a descriptive title. By its wording, it requires employers to allow their workers a full day off in every seven days that they work. Seven-day periods are calculated based on Sunday through Saturday calendar weeks, which means that during a seven-day calendar week a worker must be given at least one 24-period off from work.
As with other wage and hour laws, employers can take advantage of this law. They can seek relaxations of the law’s applicability to their businesses. If the government grants a relaxation of the law for a business, the business must provide attestations from employees who work a full seven days that they are doing so voluntarily. Some employers may compel their workers to sign such documents to protect their relaxation awards while threatening workers with job loss and other consequences if they fail to work the full seven days of the week.
Protecting employee rights from hour violations
Time off from work is important for workers’ health and wellbeing. A break from the grind of a job is necessary for a worker to check in with their family and take care of their own personal needs. When employers violate the One Day Rest in Seven Act and other wage and hour laws, they put workers at risk of harm and in difficult positions to get paid for the important jobs they perform. Employment law attorneys may be able to help.