Refusal to Work Unpaid Overtime

[Daughtre]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania

My employment began 5 years ago with a contract stating my salary and that I would be paid 1.5x for overtime. Last year, I received an outstanding review after having worked 200 hrs of paid overtime. Now, my boss wants me to work the same amount of hrs, but without the overtime pay. Is that legal, and can I be fired if I refuse?

 

[cbg]

The answer to your second question is yes, if you refuse to work the hours your employer wants you to work, you can be fired. And it will be quite legal.

The answer to your first question is a bit more complex. If you are a non-exempt employee, and we do not know if you are or not, then regardless of whether you are paid by the hour on or salary, you must be paid overtime for any hours over 40 in a workweek. If you are an exempt employee, and we do not know if you are or not, then there are no circumstance whatsoever under which the law requires that you be paid a single penny of overtime even if you work 168 hours per week (169 hours the week we turn the clocks back).

However, you do not have any kind of claim or legal recourse until you have already worked the time and not gotten paid for it. If you refuse to work on the basis that you do not believe you will be paid, you can still, quite legally, be fired.