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Jsandersgemini

Junior Member
California

I'm a Retail Store Manager in California. Starting next week, I will have only 2 employees to run my store 7 days a week. My company hates overtime, but I've got no choice. Can they fire me for working too much overtime?
 


cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
They certainly can. They decide what hours you work, particularly if you are non-exempt and have to be paid time and a half. You most definitely can be fired for working unauthorized overtime. You might want to clear it with them first, and if it's not approved, ask them what you should do instead. It may not stop you from being fired, but it will be facts in your favor when you file for unemployment.
 

eerelations

Senior Member
If OP is the store manager then he's probably exempt and therefore not legally entitled to OT pay. (Which is probably what his company hates, the pay, not the time worked.) In which case it's probably OK for OP to work as many hours as the store requires. I think what the company wants OP to do is to ensure his/her employees don't work more than 40 hours per week.
 

commentator

Senior Member
They can fire you for working too much overtime, even if you do not report it and ask to be paid for it. You are an employee. Because they have given you a managerial job, do not fall into the trap of thinking the job (or getting the job done right) is more important to you than the pay. It isn't, because you are not the owner, stockholder, person who is responsible for the overall well being of the company.

And don't think that you have to work more than you get paid for because without you doing that, it's impossible to get the job done. It is only a job, for you. They are paying you for xx amount of time. If you can't do what needs to be done in this amount of time, inform them. Ask them what they want you to do. Then quit worrying about it. It is after all, their problem, NOT yours.

If you legitimately can't "get it all done" in the hours given you, then it is up to the owner/manager/head honcho to decide if they want you to work overtime, want your employees to work overtime, or if they want to hire another employee or even if they want to fire you and try to find someone else who can get more done.

In many jobs, working extra time, unauthorized overtime, is one of the most egregious of offenses. Managers who give out too much overtime when they've been told not to get fired. Being there, even if you are not on the clock is accumulating time that they might actually have to pay you for someday. This includes staying late, working through your lunches and breaks, working far into the night or taking work home. Not only could they fire you for working too much overtime, but you would be considered insubordinate if you'd been told not to work overtime, and you probably wouldn't be able to draw unemployment benefits after they'd fired you. It would probably be considered a valid misconduct reason to terminate. Same goes for if you are salaried but you are giving your employees overtime when you've been told not to. It could very well get you fired without unemployment to back you up while looking for another job.
 
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FlyingRon

Senior Member
Of course, the other point is being a supervisory personel, you could be considered exempt and then not required to be paid overtime, even if you work more than 40 hours.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
That's a road I really didn't want to go down, seeing that a great many retail "managers" do not actually qualify to be exempt but are listed that way anyway.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
California

I'm a Retail Store Manager in California. Starting next week, I will have only 2 employees to run my store 7 days a week. My company hates overtime, but I've got no choice. Can they fire me for working too much overtime?
You are going to have to tell the company that it simply cannot be done without overtime and that you need to hire another employee or two.
 

commentator

Senior Member
And as one very promising young man told me, after he'd quit a managerial job where it came out that he was making about $2.00 an hour, classified as salaried of course, and doing his best, "You can work even a good horse to death." I tried to cover both his overtime work, which may be unreimbursed and they'd be tickled pink if he'd pitch in and work 90 hours a week. And it may be that he wants to assign overtime to his staff and that will be looked at poorly. In any case, you have to keep in mind that your time is your life, and you need to avoid squandering it.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
I really hate hearing about employers like that, and I hate even worse having to tell them they can be fired for doing what their good work ethic tells them they must do. Just because I tell them something is legal, doesn't mean I like it. And on second reading, I'm not sure if the OP is talking about working OT him/herself, or if s/he is talking about OT for the two employees. But the answer is unfortunately the same either way; a manager can be fired for unauthorized OT whether it's their own or their staff's.

That's why I want the OP to speak frankly to the employer; the work cannot be done without overtime with the available staff. How do they want it handled? Will they provide additional staff, authorize OT, allow work to be carried over to the next day? What?

I can't promise the OP that there won't be repercussions but at least that way he or she has protected him/herself as much as possible.
 

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