Hello

My name is Ryan. I work as a salesman. Two wweeks ago my boss called me saying its a madatory 7 day work week..and then on saturday asked me to work on my next day off...then had the nerve to call me on my next day off and call me into work. Needless to say I hate my job. Its great as long as I get some time away from it all. My job requires to do do physical labor (lifting lots of heavy "boxes") as well as the ordering/negotiating.

What Im getting at is my back hurts very bad and I thought that I was supposed to get my 2 days off per week. It appears that the company is forcing many if not all employees to work on their days off to save the company money on hiring merchandisers.

From what Ive read on here, it seems that companies can just get away with this. Im wondering if that isnt the case in jobs requiring physical labor.

Oh, and also when I signed (literally) up for this job I received a written and signed letter stating wages, benefits and the 2 days off per week...so I think that may constitute a contract between the company and myself.

What other options do I have...can I just say flat out "No" to any of their over-time or "come in on your day off" requests?

I appreciate any help. I would love to read any specific laws for Michigan if you can post the link.

Thanks everyone.

~ Ryan

No state requires 2 days off per week for the greatest majority of jobs. Michigan isn't one of the few states which limits the hours/days you can be required to work.
http://www.michigan.gov/cis/0,1607,7-154-27673_32352-42008--,00.html

If your agreement letter rises to the level of a bona fide, enforceable contract (most don't), you may have a breach of contract, but only an attorney versed in contract law in your state (contract law is very state- and case-specific) who has read the document in its entirety can determine that.

Now, relative to your back, have you seen a doctor? Could this be a Work Comp issue? Perhaps a short period of light duty (if your employer offers it) would be in order?

RyanP

Your situation is somewhat complicated. If I understand your situation correctly, you are an Outside Salesman who also performs manual labor. The complication arises with the concurrent duties of Sales and Manual Labor. There are two sections of CFR 29 that apply to your situation, parts 541.100 and 541.106. Part 541.106 states that, “Concurrent performance of exempt [Outside Sales] and nonexempt work [Manual Labor] does not disqualify an employee from the Executive exemption if the requirements of part 541.100 are met.” Part 541.100, in a nutshell, has four criteria that must be met: 1) the employee must be paid no less that $455/week 2) the employee’s Primary Duties must be related to management 3) the employee must customarily and regularly direct the work of others, and 4) the employee has the authority to hire and fire employees.

The way I understand parts 541.100 and 541.106, if all of the criteria in 541.100 are not met then the concurrent nonexempt [manual labor] mentioned in 541.106 does disqualify that specific work from exemption. So, if in a work week you worked a total of 60 hours and out of those hours 18 were outside sales and 42 were manual labor, you would get 2 hours of OT for that week. That’s the way I read the code

Thanks for the information everyone.

I feel Im a very poor situation. I cant recall much because time is blurring together...I know one week I turned in over 70 hours alone. Unfortunately, I'm paid on a variable rate OT. So its boils down to less than $8/hour...which I think is terribly unfair...before they made me salary I was paid $10.25 per hour...and now...after putting in 30 hours of OT I get a measly $230... I dont understand why I should be paid less per hour...why isnt the 1st hour of pay the same as the last...

anyway, it looks like my only choice is to quit this job. I think they may be trying for force such a situation on me...

Can I just say no to working when Im on my days off?

There is a lot or pressure put on me about answering calls on my days off also. When I signed up for this job they specifically said I'll have a "swing salesperson" that will be covering me on my days off (2 per week).

any other feedback? Im going to go into the office on monday and talk to human resources about my bleak situation.

~ Ryan

Don't just up and quit so quickly. Many employers get away with not paying overtime pay they owe employees because they quit. Before you do anything I would check with your State's Labor Board. If you know of someone who can dispense free legal advise, try to get a legal interpretation of that agreement you mentioned.

It sounds like they're paying you on a "fluctuating workweek" method. Read this and see if this applies:
http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_778/29CFR778.114.htm