Wages and Hours When Exempt

Hi,

Can anyone answer a few questions for me concerning wages, hours, and compensation in Maryland? I am an exempt employee at a bank -- Assistant Branch Manager. I have been with a new company for just 3 months now. I recently had to take off half a week due to my son being hospitalized. I only managed to work 19 hours that week. I typically am scheduled overtime and work anywhere from 45 to 50 hours a week with no overtime pay because I am exempt. However, when I received my paycheck for the week of my son's illness, I was not paid a full paycheck. I was docked to compensate for the hours that I had missed. After returning to work, I have worked 51 hours one week and 55 hours ( 6 days ) the next week. My actual hire date was 1/8/2001 and I was supposed to start accruing sick, vacation, and personal time after 3 months. However, the actual date that they began accruing it was the pay period following my 3 month anniversary. This happened to be the pay period after the absence from work, so I was not able to use any towards the day I had to take off. Is all of this legal and kosher? Or am I supposed to be paid 40 hours per week regardless of what I worked due to being exempt? And, what about the extra hours that I work on a regular basis without being paid?

Thank You

You are supposed to receive the same amount each week or bi-weekly, depending on how paid, without deductions other than taxes and agreed to deductions, such as union dues, no matter how many hours you work.

I suggest you call Maryland's wage & hour division and let them take it from there. The employer will have 30 days to answer the complaint that W&H will send them. If W&H doesn't think their answer has merit, they will refer it to the Attorney General's office for prosecution.