Is it legal for a company to force employees to work 7 days a week for 12 hours a day in another state? (temporarily)

[Arkitech]

I work for a company where 70% of the employees are union represented. The other 30% (myself included) are termed as management or non-union employees.


So here's the situation, the union employees contract has run out and they are planning to go on strike. So obviously thats an issue if 70% of the employees are not working, the problem is that the company is forcing the other 30% to cover for the union represented workers. Are there any labor laws against a 7x12 shift? To make it worse since all management employees in my company are salaried we don't get overtime for all of the extra hours. In fact I don't think we even get extra vacation days. If there is'nt a law against this there should be.

 

[GasX]

it's a little known fact, that they owe you for the extra time worked. At least under California law....

 

[DaWhim]

you get overtime. just suck it up, you will happy when you see the paycheck

oops...missed that. just work 40hrs/week, this is the LAW. if anything over, they gotta pay you overtime.

 

[Shelly21]

If you're not getting paid and you're not getting comp time... it seems illegal.

 

[Shelly21]

Originally posted by: DaWhim
you get overtime. just suck it up, you will happy when you see the paycheck

He said he's not getting overtime.

 

[dullard]

Happens all the time. Sucks, doesn't it.

 

[kt]

Stop bragging how much work you got.

 

[DaWhim]

Originally posted by: Shelly21

Originally posted by: DaWhim
you get overtime. just suck it up, you will happy when you see the paycheck

He said he's not getting overtime.

i missed...no way in hell that i will do that. why not go to strike together?

 

[Jzero]

My dad has to do that when the union goes on strike at his plant. Actually, he has to pack a week's worth of clothes and be in the office before the close of negotiations so that they don't have to risk crossing picket lines.

When you get paid the "big bucks" (quoted b/c my dad hardly gets paid big bucks) to be in management, that's the breaks.

I don't think it's illegal as long as they don't violate laws on breaks and meals and such.

 

[Viper GTS]

Yes, it is completely legal.

OT only applies to hourly employees.

If there is'nt a law against this there should be.

No, there shouldn't be.

At will employment is a wonderful thing.

Viper GTS

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: DaWhim
you get overtime. just suck it up, you will happy when you see the paycheck

oops...missed that. just work 40hrs/week, this is the LAW. if anything over, they gotta pay you overtime.

I thought with employees on salary overtime is'nt factored in

 

[Jzero]

Originally posted by: Arkitech

Originally posted by: DaWhim
you get overtime. just suck it up, you will happy when you see the paycheck

oops...missed that. just work 40hrs/week, this is the LAW. if anything over, they gotta pay you overtime.

I thought with employees on salary overtime is'nt factored in

You are correct. Some places give comp time or other non-monetary benefits for salaried employees working full-time. Check your employee handbook or HR rep.

But generally, being salaried means no overtime.

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
Yes, it is completely legal.

OT only applies to hourly employees.

If there is'nt a law against this there should be.

No, there shouldn't be.

At will employment is a wonderful thing.

Viper GTS

So you think a company should be able to force workers to work an extra 44 hours weekly at any given time with out pay????

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: Arkitech

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
Yes, it is completely legal.

OT only applies to hourly employees.

If there is'nt a law against this there should be.

No, there shouldn't be.

At will employment is a wonderful thing.

Viper GTS

So you think a company should be able to force workers to work an extra 44 hours weekly at any given time with out pay????

They can't force you to do anything.

You have the option to quit at any time.

Viper GTS

 

[DaWhim]

Originally posted by: Jzero

Originally posted by: Arkitech

Originally posted by: DaWhim
you get overtime. just suck it up, you will happy when you see the paycheck

oops...missed that. just work 40hrs/week, this is the LAW. if anything over, they gotta pay you overtime.

I thought with employees on salary overtime is'nt factored in

You are correct. Some places give comp time or other non-monetary benefits for salaried employees working full-time. Check your employee handbook or HR rep.

But generally, being salaried means no overtime.

guess what? if i am the employer, I will turn my employees to work like slave. it just doesn't make sense.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: Arkitech

Originally posted by: DaWhim
you get overtime. just suck it up, you will happy when you see the paycheck

oops...missed that. just work 40hrs/week, this is the LAW. if anything over, they gotta pay you overtime.

I thought with employees on salary overtime is'nt factored in

Actually it depends. Some salary jobs do require overtime depending in their nature and listing. Contact the states Employment Security Commission and ask them. They should be able to tell you what THEY have to do and what you can do.

 

[Jzero]

Originally posted by: DaWhim

Originally posted by: Jzero

Originally posted by: Arkitech

Originally posted by: DaWhim
you get overtime. just suck it up, you will happy when you see the paycheck

oops...missed that. just work 40hrs/week, this is the LAW. if anything over, they gotta pay you overtime.

I thought with employees on salary overtime is'nt factored in

You are correct. Some places give comp time or other non-monetary benefits for salaried employees working full-time. Check your employee handbook or HR rep.

But generally, being salaried means no overtime.

guess what? if i am the employer, I will turn my employees to work like slave. it just doesn't make sense.

Try it and see how it affects your turnover rate.

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS

Originally posted by: Arkitech

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
Yes, it is completely legal.

OT only applies to hourly employees.

If there is'nt a law against this there should be.

No, there shouldn't be.

At will employment is a wonderful thing.

Viper GTS

So you think a company should be able to force workers to work an extra 44 hours weekly at any given time with out pay????

They can't force you to do anything.

You have the option to quit at any time.

Viper GTS

If you've worked at a company for 5-6 years and all of a sudden out of the blue they tell you, you're going to have put in 84 hours a week for the next few weeks I don't think that's reasonable. I can understand the company needing the full support of their workers but again you have to work within the realms of reality.

 

[Jeraden]

This is my understanding...

It comes down to how different jobs are classified (based on some federal guidelines). Managerial jobs are considered exempt from overtime, so they can have you work zillions of hours and not have to compensate you for them.

In your particular situation though, it sounds like you are being requested to work outside your normal position, doing work you normally would not do as a managerial employee. You are doing work the normal hourly union employees would do. This might cross into some grey area and qualify you for some extra pay, but you'd probably need to get someone familiar with labor laws to tell you exactly what you can do.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: Jeraden
This is my understanding...

It comes down to how different jobs are classified (based on some federal guidelines). Managerial jobs are considered exempt from overtime, so they can have you work zillions of hours and not have to compensate you for them.

In your particular situation though, it sounds like you are being requested to work outside your normal position, doing work you normally would not do as a managerial employee. You are doing work the normal hourly union employees would do. This might cross into some grey area and qualify you for some extra pay, but you'd probably need to get someone familiar with labor laws to tell you exactly what you can do.

Agreed. To really be a mang. employee you have to spend at leats a certain % of your work day supervising at leats 2 or more employees, and other certain job requirments to that listing.

I agree it sounds liek the NEW job function is NOT exempt from overtime. Kepp ALL his work logs and sheets to prove he did work what he did. BUT when his first check comes if there is no overtime then file a written complaint and save a copy of that letter and the resposne. If they pay, good for you, if not then contat the states employment comm.

 

[cherrytwist]

Are you religious?

I believe there are laws that state you must be given time off to practice your religion. I worked a 7 day/56 hour week schedule (as a welder/fabricator) and this was a solution for some people who "needed" time off.

Personally, I never took off, but I know that several people at the shop did.

Laws may vary from state to state, not sure.

 

[fredtam]

I worked for a company where as management I worked 12 hours a day/6 days a week. I too thought that they were under no obligation to pay overtime. Shortly after I left I recieved notification of a class action suit. The compant settled out of court and I got a nice check. It seems as though if nothing was wrong with it they would not have settled (we are talking many millions). Now management there is on a strict 40 hour schedule and overtime is paid even to salaried employees.

 

[Shelly21]

I'm salaried and yet I also get overtime... Isn't that strange? some IT people sued some company and the rest.. is history.

I made about 10k in overtime last year.

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: fredtam
I worked for a company where as management I worked 12 hours a day/6 days a week. I too thought that they were under no obligation to pay overtime. Shortly after I left I recieved notification of a class action suit. The compant settled out of court and I got a nice check. It seems as though if nothing was wrong with it they would not have settled (we are talking many millions). Now management there is on a strict 40 hour schedule and overtime is paid even to salaried employees.

wow thats really interesting

what state was that in?

 

[fredtam]

Fact Sheet #23: Overtime Pay Requirements of the FLSA]

Edit: Link fixed.