I was hired at a job in florida at 42.5 hours per week. As a "belt tightening" measure my hours were reduced to 38 per week. Now my employer says I am part time and not eligible for benefits. Is this legal?
by 
Anonymous
ANSWERS: 5
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If your original employment agreement was for 42.5 hours/week and you have written documentation, and you have not agreed in writing to accept a reduction in hours, then you need to contact your state employment security division; would apply for partial unemployment benefits as well.
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I thought you were part time under 32 hours.
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I thought anything over 30 hours was considered full time. I work 38.6hrs a week which is considered permanent in my work sector.
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I have never heard of a job being set at 42.5 hours. An employer can do whatever they deem necessary. right now - I would not say much - I would be glad to have the job. Things are going to get much worse. Employers will not be the bad guys in most cases - they will need to lay off even more people. Be thankful you have a job.
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The answer to your question is yes, this is legal. However, I wanted to address the other answers that state: "I thought full-time was 30 (or 32) hours." What is considered full-time or part-time is completely up to your employer. Your employer has no duty to give benefits to any employee. If your employer decides to give benefits to full0time employees, the employer could decide that full-time means those who work over 45 hours a week. Just as the definition of full-time is up to your employer, each state agency that provides benefits based on employment can pick their own definition as well. For example, the amount of unemployment benefits in most states are tied to whether or not you are full-time or part-time. And many states define full-time for this purpose as over 30 or 32 hours a week. But just because the state defines full-time as over 32 hours, that has no affect on your employers definition.
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