Required To Go To Work, But Not Allowed To Clock In

[Inis]

I work at Sears Portrait Studio. Recently the came up with a new scheduling system that has me concerned. They are saying our business is opened 10am - 3pm. We have a 2pm-3pm hour lunch break. We are required to come back to work and see if there is a 3pm appointment booked. If not we are not allowed to clock in at all and must leave. If there is we can stay. Is it legal to make your employees come to work for a possible shift and not let them actually work that day? Something about this does not seem right to me.

[Torley]

I work at Sears Portrait Studio. Recently the came up with a new scheduling system that has me concerned. They are saying our business is opened 10am - 3pm. We have a 2pm-3pm hour lunch break. We are required to come back to work and see if there is a 3pm appointment booked. If not we are not allowed to clock in at all and must leave. If there is we can stay. Is it legal to make your employees come to work for a possible shift and not let them actually work that day? Something about this does not seem right to me.

[Job]

It is a bit "ugly", but there is nothing I can find that makes the practice illegal. Just as some businesses only know how many people they will need for any given day and only allow that number of persons to work once the day begins, as long as you are not performing any work-related tasks, the employer is not required to allow the employee to clock in. Shannon M. Reising, MSP, PHR