My boss just announced that he will be going on a two week vacation next month to the Bahamas and that while he's gone, no one is allowed to call out of a shift for any reason.
I work at a small coffee shop as a barista and work there is extremely stressful. Everyone except my boss receives minimum wage. We have only been open for three months and crises still happen every day. My boss is there almost every day (though usually not during the morning when I work, because he prefers to sleep in). He's going on the vacation to celebrate how well he believes the business is going. This is probably a bad idea, but if the place burns down in his absence, I don't care.
The problem is that we are literally forbidden from calling out for any reason during that time period. I mean, I don't plan on calling out. No one really does. But I have major health issues, and what if something flares up? According to him, calling out while he's gone will result in being either fired or having your hours cut.
Is this legal? How can I deal with this? I'm going to be eligible for a 50 cent raise in three months and I really don't want to start over at minimum wage again at a new job.