Hoping to get some answers??

Salaried employee (inside sales) who is required to work tradeshows that usually are ran on the weekends.

Here is an example...I work all week (Mon-Thur) in the office doing my normal sales. Then I fly out all day on Friday to get to the trade show to set up all day and then work all day Friday and Saturday and then fly home all day Sunday. I am expected to then show up for work bright and early Monday morning. We are not compensated for the weekend work and on rare occasions two tradeshows will run week to week. Can they require us to work weekends and not give us time off? If we take time off they require us to use PT or Vactiona time? Is this right???

I am so confused?? How can we be required to work on the weekends but not given time off to rest or take care of personal issues???

Can they require us to work weekends and not give us time off?

If you are an exempt employee, you can be required to work whenever and just get whatever your salary is for the pay period. If you take time off, the employer can have you use your PTO.

But I have difficulty seeing how an inside sales person can be exempt.

If you are non-exempt, then:

Yes, even in California (unless you exceed the 32 hours of mandatory overtime that employers can require you to work), they can make you work weekends and not give you time off.

I think that is the only bad news.

I believe California requires that your travel time be paid, even if you are a passenger (unlike Federal law). You would have to be paid according to CA laws for your time spent working on the weekend (likely pushing you into overtime or even California's bizarre double time requirement).

Clarification:

California law does not limit overtime to 32 hours a week. It limits MANDATORY overtime to 32 hours a week.

An employee who wants to work more than 72 hours a week (and who has the permission of his employer to do so) may do so. Likewise, an employer may request an employee to work more than 32 hours of overtime; they just cannot require it.

An employee in California cannot be disciplined or fired for refusing to work more than 72 hours a week. But that's not the same thing as limiting ANY overtime to 72 hours a week.

Where do I go to find out if I am exempt or non exempt?

In order to be exempt from the overtime provisions of California law, inside salespersons generally must paid at least one and one-half times the California minimum wage, and more than 50% of the employee's total compensation must come from commission.

Well it seems as if I am exempt-thank you!

Let me throw a monkey wrench in there...

What if I am commision only? Am I required to use personal time or vacation time??? And if I didn't have the amount of time off available, what would they dock me if all I am paid only in commisions?

Why do you think being paid by commission only would exempt you from following company rules regarding the use of vacation or personal time?

I want to understand the laws and how they apply to my situation.

cbg: An employee in California cannot be disciplined or fired for refusing to work more than 72 hours a week.

In which Labor Code Section or Wage Order do you find this?

I have the reference somewhere; I'll find it and post back later. It might be tomorrow but I'll get back to you.

Joe916, do you have it? I know we've discussed it before.

Barry, it's in the wage orders.

If you are paid commissions only, make more than 1.5 times minimum wage, and work in retail sales, then you don't get overtime. If you want time off, you have to com[ply with your employer's requirements.

Megan: This I know. In fact it is exactly what I posted about 6 posts below yours.

cbg made the comment that: "an employee in California cannot be disciplined or fired for refusing to work more than 72 hours a week."

My question to cbg was "in which Labor Code Section or Wage Order do you find this?" Wage Order 5 places some limits on the time nurses can work, but even that is not absolute. Suffice to say, I am aware of nothing in the CA Labor Code or Wage Orders that provides "an employee can not be disciplined or fired for refusing to work more than 72 hours a week."

Wage Order 4-2001, Section 3, Paragraph L

http://www.dir.ca.gov/IWC/IWCArticle4.pdf

I see the language you are referencing in Wage Order 4. A few comments:

1. It is not absolute. As caveated by reference to Section 2D: “If there are "unavoidable" or "unpredictable" occurrences, an employee can be required to work more than 72 hours in a workweek and failure to do so could be grounds for termination and/or discipline.”

2. The language you referenced in Wage Order 4 is conspicuously absent from other Wage Orders (i.e., Wage Order 1 – Manufacturing).

My concern: I wouldn’t want an unsuspecting reader to think he can carte blanch tell his employer he is not going to work more than 72 hours this week, as he might very well be disciplined or fired.

Barry, I thought that it was in all the wage orders, which is why I phrased it that way. Thank you for pointing out that it is not.