I work for an insurance company in Texas. My job is in sales however I am required to be at the office 9-6 and many of my job duties are not selling. At least 2 or 3 hours of my day is servicing customers who call in and taking payments. These are not necessarily my clients. Just whoever calls in. I am on phone duty where I must be at my desk answering the calls that come whether they are service work or potential sales. I am commision however 2 years ago my company started paying a draw of $1500 if the sales people do not sell enough to make over that. This is a ridiculous amount which no one could live on and I believe it was done after a 19 million dollar lawsuit by S California salespeople to avoid similar lawsuits in the future. I have to attend mandatory meetings at night which take me away from my family and now my boss is mandating I work 2 nights per week making cold calls because when I took time off for vacation last month I did not make the goal he wanted. As I am commisioned, taking the time off already penalized me because if I am there I cannot sell and therefore have not much of a paycheck. It was time taken with that knowledge though as even commisioned people need a break. Now in addition to not having money due to the time off, I am being punished by having to work 4 hours in a dddition per week to the 40 I already work. Can my boss make me be there at night when my office hours are 9-6? 9-6 is when my clients come in wanting to buy. The next question is they pay me "half" time for hours over 40 worked. Not time and a half like other employes who are salaried...half time. It amounts to about $10 per hour. Others maake $26 or more for overtime. Also, if they are making me be in the office 9-6 and having phone duty 2-3 days per week ...I am certainly not an outside agent...can they call me exempt? I have read many threads and it looks to me like in Texas the employers can do anything they want to theor employees and if we do not like it we can find another job. I have worked for this company 5 years and I like the part of my job that is actually selling. However this forced overtime at night as a penalty for taking a week off in July is unfair in my opinion. Also, making half time for all the extra hours is adding insult to injury. Please let me know if I have any rights at all and if you think it sounds as if they are misclassifying me. emma in tx

What exactly ARE your primary duties? What do you sell? Do you generate your own leads?