When times are tough financially and economically, many people turn to get a second job or a so-called side hustle to help make ends meet. Is working multiple jobs against the law?

With the cost of living increasing at a breakneck pace, whether from housing costs to food prices to eye-popping gasoline prices, having multiple jobs is often the only way for workers to keep their heads above water. 

Long gone are the days of a single-income family being able to afford their own home, and things aren’t likely to get any better as governments fail to stem the tide of rising income inequality and the resulting poverty of the increasingly troubling phenomenon.

But some employment contracts and some professions restrict workers’ abilities to take on multiple jobs with what are known as anti-moonlighting and non-compete clauses. 

The Legal Implications of Working Two Jobs

An emerging trend, as well, sprang up during the COVID-19 pandemic when millions of workers began working remotely from home as offices closed under public health mandates and companies were forced to swiftly adapt to a new and challenging reality.

Meanwhile, some workers took full advantage of the new arrangement by moving to sunnier locations to work remotely, while others took on second jobs without informing their bosses.

The explosion of so many people working remotely, in turn, saw a notable uptick in people wondering about the laws around working multiple jobs.

Several questions arise, such as: is working multiple jobs against the law? What are the consequences associated with working multiple jobs if your employer forbids working for anyone else? 

Moonlighting, side hustles, and employment contracts

Working a second job for many workers these days is essential to maintaining financial stability, and criminal and civil laws in most jurisdictions don’t generally prohibit people from working more than one job.

After all, most people are limited to selling their labour in order to make a living and placing any legal limits on workers’ ability to maximize their earnings would be a significant infringement on their rights.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean employers can’t contractually restrict workers from taking on other work, especially work with a competitor in the same industry.

Non-compete clauses in employment contracts are there to protect a company’s trade secrets and other confidential information that could give a competitor a leg up if they became privy to such information by hiring a current or even former employee from a rival firm. 

Employment relationships are civil contracts

In the United States and other countries, employment relationships are governed by civil contracts and provide both workers and employers with the right to end contractual relationships “at will” as long as they don’t violate human rights codes or agreed-upon contractual terms.

If your employment contract requires you to be available at all times, a company could indeed have a valid reason to fire you if your second job limits your availability and ability to do the job for which you were hired.

Some second jobs or side hustles, whether intentional or not, could also put a worker in a conflict of interest with their primary job.

If a restaurant cook uses their weekends to run a food truck using the restaurant’s recipes without permission, a head chef may fire that worker for unauthorized use of the establishment’s confidential recipe information. 

Remote workers can also find themselves in hot water for using a company laptop and a subsidized internet connection to further their secondary job at their primary employer’s expense.

If your second job has you showing up late or fatigued and clearly affecting your productivity, a company may end up firing you for poor performance.

Non-competition clauses and anti-moonlighting policies 

With that in mind, it’s important to review your employment contract before taking on another job to make sure you’re not breaching the deal with your employer. Many companies have standard non-competition clauses baked into their contracts, while others may have certain restrictions on “moonlighting” as a matter of company policy.

Informing your boss or the firm’s human resources department is likely a good idea if you’re worried that taking a second job will put your main gig at risk. 

Employers have many reasons to worry about moonlighting employees, especially if a second job could involve the use of company resources for anything other than performing their daily tasks.

The fear of commingling a primary job’s tools with a side gig is certainly warranted when remote work involves the use of, say, a company computer and phone and internet connection. 

Can My Employer Stop Me From Working Other Jobs?

Moonlighting in some professions, though, has been shown to be extremely problematic. For a long time in many major American cities, police officers were permitted to moonlight as private security guards for high-profile individuals and organizations.

Two allegedly corrupt members of the Los Angeles Police Department regularly moonlighted as private security guards for rap mogul Suge Knight when he owned Death Row Records.

Also in California, back in 2014, several members of the San Jose Police Department were prohibited from continuing to act as security guards for the NFL’s San Francisco 49s after controversy erupted for their handling of a domestic violence incident involving one of the team’s players. 

Working multiple jobs against the law conclusion

There is little doubt that times are tough all around these days for working-class people, and the erosion of their financial security continues as central banks and governments work to tame record-high inflation.

For young families and recent high school and college graduates, the prospect of ever owning a home or building a wealth of any kind is dim and shows no signs of improvement in the near future.

Taking on more than one job, therefore, is not only a logical choice for many workers but also an essential step in securing their financial well-being. 

Companies averse to paying living wages and providing benefits to their employees shouldn’t be surprised when their workers end up taking on second jobs, though they perhaps shouldn’t be blamed for adopting policies to protect their trade secrets and confidential information.

So while it’s not against the law to work multiple jobs, workers who are currently or even contemplating taking on a side hustle should make sure they’re not breaking company rules by doing so, which could leave them without the very income they seek to supplement with secondary employment. 

Famous Lawsuits That Made The News

Starbucks was the subject of a landmark case in 2017, the case was called Allen v. Starbucks Corporation. Barista Douglas Allen claimed he was required to perform off-the-clock work without compensation. Despite efforts from Starbucks to dismiss, the case gained momentum. Court documents reveal that Allen claimed up to 10 unpaid hours per week.

It’s not uncommon for employees to juggle multiple jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, around 7.8% of workers held more than one job at the end of 2022. As multiple job holding increases, so do the legal battles.

Is It Illegal to Work Multiple Jobs? Understand the Law

In an infamous case, Griswold v. Walmart Stores, Inc. in 2019, retail giant Walmart was under scrutiny. Former employee Brenda Griswold alleged she was unjustly fired for excessive tardiness.

Griswold held another job at the time. Court documents show her hours frequently overlapped, causing tardiness at Walmart.

The crux of Griswold’s argument revolved around her assertion that Walmart was aware of her second job and initially willing to accommodate it. Her case sparked a heated debate about the responsibilities of employers towards employees with multiple jobs.

Amazon was caught in the headlines in 2021 in a case involving its Whole Foods subsidiary, Johnson v. Whole Foods Market Group, Inc. Michael Johnson, a bakery employee, was allegedly discouraged from taking a second job.

Johnson claimed that Whole Foods manipulated his schedule to make it impossible for him to maintain his second job at a local pizzeria.

Unravelling the Legality: Can You Hold Down Multiple Jobs?

Johnson’s case proved significant. It questioned whether an employer could interfere with an employee’s ability to secure a second job. In this case, Whole Foods claimed they were within their rights to demand scheduling priority.

In the healthcare industry, a 2020 case involving a nurse, Gibson v. Hospital Corporation of America, caught national attention. Nurse Linda Gibson alleged that she was unfairly dismissed from her job at an HCA facility for being late due to her second job.

Gibson’s case mirrored Griswold’s. Her legal team argued HCA had knowledge of her second job. Despite this, HCA maintained that patient care was paramount and her lateness jeopardized this.

The outcomes of these lawsuits show varying levels of success. For instance, the Griswold v. Walmart case resulted in a settlement, whereas Gibson v. HCA was dismissed. The Johnson v. Whole Foods case is ongoing, with the courts yet to decide.

Lawsuits like these illustrate the intricate dance between employers and employees who work multiple jobs. As of 2022, over 13 million Americans held more than one job, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Legal battles over multiple job holding are on the rise, underscoring the need for clear employer policies regarding scheduling and secondary employment.