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How many hours a day can be expected?

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Treowe

Junior Member
What is the name of your state?New York State. Can you be terminated for not working 15 hours a day, seven days a week? My daughter took a salaried position that was ostensibly a 40 hour a week job with occasional overtime. Now she is working 10 to 12 hours (lunch at desk) a day including weekends to get everything they are throwing at her done.( she is a one-person art department in a company that had always outsourced their graphics work) Today she was loudly and lengthily repremanded because she hasn't been staying 15 hours a day. Her boss acts like she's a slacker for only doing 12 hours a day. He is threatening to let her go. Does she have any recourse?
 
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Treowe

Junior Member
I'm sure she's considered that, alas since she needs the job, it might not be prudent, but thanks for the suggestion. :D
 

Beth3

Senior Member
Her recourse is to find another job. I agree that her employer's expectations are completely unreasonable but that is not against the law.
 

boonehead

Member
My daughter took a salaried position that was ostensibly a 40 hour a week job with occasional overtime.

If she is salaried, she can't get paid overtime, A employer can either pay you salary the same amount every week no matter how many hours, or you are paid hourly with overtime after 40 hrs, they cannot pay you extra pay for working more when on salary.Otherwise they are in violation of federal law.
 

Treowe

Junior Member
I don't know what the criteria is for a wrongful termination lawsuit, but I am advising her to document anything and everything that she can remember and see if she kept any of the emails indicating what her hours would be when she was hired, and any other anecdotal remarks or comments made to her about not staying at her desk for over 12 hours a day. There have to be laws that protect people from this kind of harrassment/verbal abuse. Lincoln freed the slaves, who will break the shackles of the salaried employees who are being taken advantage of? I am just so pissed off about this. :mad:
 

pattytx

Senior Member
If she is salaried, she can't get paid overtime, A employer can either pay you salary the same amount every week no matter how many hours, or you are paid hourly with overtime after 40 hrs, they cannot pay you extra pay for working more when on salary.Otherwise they are in violation of federal law.
Let's make sure we get our terms correct here and refer to the actual FLSA regulations. The requirement to pay overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act is for nonexempt employees only. It has nothing to do with being "salaried", as the terms hourly and salaried merely refer to pay methods. A nonexempt employee can be paid on a salaried pay basis.
http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_778/29CFR778.113.htm

Plus, there is nothing in the FLSA that prohibits an employer from paying extra compensation to an exempt employee, as long as they still receive their guaranteed "weekly salary".

In other words, additional compensation besides the salary is not inconsistent with the salary basis of payment.
http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_541/29CFR541.118.htm

Although some federal courts have ruled that tying additional compensation to actual additional hours worked in conjunction with the employee's average hourly rate may jeopardize the employee's exempt status, other federal courts have ruled that it does not.
 

Treowe

Junior Member
"Plus, there is nothing in the FLSA that prohibits an employer from paying extra compensation to an exempt employee, as long as they still receive their guaranteed "weekly salary". "

Am I correct in the assumption that this is at the discretion of the employer, and not considered mandatory or required? In reality, how many employers would elect to actually pay more, if they can legally work you to death for your regular weekly salary? In checking further, I've learned that NY State is a 'fire at will' state, meaning that you can be hired and fired at the whim of your employer, with few exceptions. An employer can also legally change/increase the employees hours and pay at his discretion. Great law, right? Where's the protection for the employees in this state? They can hire you at x amount of dollars a week for a 40 hour week and just increase it to the point of absurdity and you have no recourse but to quit or work til you drop.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
I don't know what the criteria is for a wrongful termination lawsuit

Then I'll tell you.

It is a wrongful termination if either Title VII or public policy is violated.

It is a Title VII violation if she is fired BECAUSE OF her race, religion, national origin and so on.

It is a public policy violation if she is fired BECAUSE she applies for or utilizes a right or benefit that is protected under the law (FMLA, workers comp, joining a union, reporting unsafe activity to OSHA etc.)

It is NOT a wrongful termination if she is fired for refusing to work the hours her employer requires of her, no matter how unreasonable those hours may be and no matter how much documentation she can provide that she was initially told the job would be 40 hours per week. Her employer is entitled to change the conditions of her employment unless she has a bona fide, enforceable contract (not an e-mail from her supervisor, not an offer letter, not an employee handbook, a CONTRACT) that says otherwise.

She has the right to quit at any time and take a job with conditions more to her liking, an option that slaves did not have.
 

pattytx

Senior Member
It is up to the employer whether or not to provide any additional compensation or other perks to exempt employees; it is not required under any law.

An exempt employee must be paid a guaranteed salary of $455/week. If the salary is below that amount, the individual is automatically nonexempt and must be paid overtime for hours worked in excess of 40 in a work week.

The concept of "at-will employment" also includes the right for an employee to quit at any time for any reason. The pendulum swings both ways.

If you think your state does not provide enough "protection" for employees, then lobby your state representative. I would not be optimistic, however. Any regulations that are more advantageous to the employee are, in most cases, going to be detrimental to the employer and that would drive business out of the state. Your state legislators are not going to want to do that.

This is the way of the work world, buddy. Nobody owes you (or your daughter) the perfect job!
 

purple2

Member
"that would drive business out of the state. Your state legislators are not going to want to do that."

LOL, Our NY legislators are known for driving employers out of state! :D
 

Treowe

Junior Member
I really appreciate all the information that you so kindly provided. That's why I chose to post my questions here, to gather some knowledge so that I could try to understand the concept of hiring someone and giving them a reasonable expectation of long term employment under conditions that are not ludicrous. Nobody expects a 'perfect job', just a job that falls somewhere within the parameters outlined at the time of being hired.
 

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