excessive overtime for salaried employees

[LONDONDERRY]

What is the name of your state? MAssachusetts.

I have a question regarding excessive overtime. I have a friend of mine that is SALARIED professional engineering, that started at a new company, close to where I work, 2 weeks ago. He is all ready telling me that he worked from 8:00am to 3:00am one day and then went home took a 6 hours snooze and then went back worked from 10:00am to 12 mid night. Basically he mentioned that he is working 30-35 hours extra. I know that salaried employees can be required to work lots and lots of overtime with out compensation. But is for God sake that sound's excessive to work that many hours, let alone un healthy. Can an employer make or force a salaried employee work sa many hours as they feel?

Thanks

 

[Beth3]

Yes. An an employer can require any employee (whether exempt or non-exempt) to work that kind of schedule. Hopefully, your friend's current work schedule is just a temporary situation because he's new or there's an urgent project at present.

It would be very foolish of any employer to have anyone work those kinds of hours for very long. Even putting aside employee health issues, the quality of the work being performed would certainly deteriorate.

 

[LONDONDERRY]

Beth-
Thank you for the advice and tips. It does seem a bit extreme that an employer can do or act like that to employees. One other question in regards to this, is how can an employer forcably work employees to such excess with out some sort of state or federal laws in place?

 

[Beth3]

You mean without laws that allow this? The law doesn't work that way. When there are no laws that prohibit something, a right is presumed. In this case, common sense dictates that an employer can't have employees working those kinds of hours for very long. FYI, I work for a law firm and it's not at all uncommon for attorneys to work those kinds of hours when preparing for a trial, as do other types of professionals when the need arises.

Some States do require "one day of rest in seven" but even then, there are exceptions to that.

 

[ecmst12]

"Salaried" (exempt) employees are paid for the job they do, regardless of the number of hours it takes them to do it. If the job requires 80 hours per week, then that's what it requires.

But it is not FORCING the employees to do anything unless the employees are being handcuffed to their desk or threatened with bodily harm. The employee is always free to leave and seek employment elsewhere, if he/she finds that the compensation is not enough for the amount of hours required. That's what at-will employment means. No one is a slave to their employer, and if a company consistently expects too much while paying too little, they will find that they can't hang onto their employees for very long, and business will suffer.

 

[LONDONDERRY]

"Salaried" (exempt) employees are paid for the job they do, regardless of the number of hours it takes them to do it. If the job requires 80 hours per week, then that's what it requires.

But it is not FORCING the employees to do anything unless the employees are being handcuffed to their desk or threatened with bodily harm. The employee is always free to leave and seek employment elsewhere, if he/she finds that the compensation is not enough for the amount of hours required. That's what at-will employment means. No one is a slave to their employer, and if a company consistently expects too much while paying too little, they will find that they can't hang onto their employees for very long, and business will suffer.

Thanks for mentioning that. It is stange though the chil labor laws do cap the amount of hours they can work. Can this same senerio, excessive overtime, be the same for unions with collective bargining contracts?

Regards

 

[pattytx]

A CBA is a whole 'nuther animal.