It would be very hard to distinguish when people were doing it because they wanted to, and when employers were demanding it. Maybe some employees are working that extra time, but one isn’t. The one that isn’t happens to be fired later on, for unrelated reasons. How do you determine that worker’s unwillingness to work extra hours is not one of the reasons they were fired? Whether it is or not, that happening will likely encourage workers to go beyond the eight hours, because the last one that didn’t got fired, and a relationship will be drawn whether there is one or not.
It’s not like you can fire employees on a whim: the “unrelated reasons” have to be substantial ones, and it’s not clear you can find ones for any employee you want to fire. (Otherwise, you could use such a mechanism to de facto compel your employees to do pretty much anything you want.)
Also, even if you somehow did manage to de facto demand workers to work ten hours a day, if you have to pay hours beyond the eighth as overtime (with a hourly wage substantially higher than the regular one), then it’s cheaper for you to hire ten people eight hours a day each than eight people ten hours a day.
It would be very hard to distinguish when people were doing it because they wanted to, and when employers were demanding it. Maybe some employees are working that extra time, but one isn’t. The one that isn’t happens to be fired later on, for unrelated reasons. How do you determine that worker’s unwillingness to work extra hours is not one of the reasons they were fired? Whether it is or not, that happening will likely encourage workers to go beyond the eight hours, because the last one that didn’t got fired, and a relationship will be drawn whether there is one or not.
It’s not like you can fire employees on a whim: the “unrelated reasons” have to be substantial ones, and it’s not clear you can find ones for any employee you want to fire. (Otherwise, you could use such a mechanism to de facto compel your employees to do pretty much anything you want.)
Also, even if you somehow did manage to de facto demand workers to work ten hours a day, if you have to pay hours beyond the eighth as overtime (with a hourly wage substantially higher than the regular one), then it’s cheaper for you to hire ten people eight hours a day each than eight people ten hours a day.
Under American law, you basically can fire an employee “on a whim” as long as it isn’t a prohibited reason.
Only if they can’t get another job.
That assumption isn’t that far-fetched. Also, the same applies to doing that to compel them to work extra time (or am I missing something?).