Here is the long and short of it: I am an exempt employee; I hold a corporate office position. I have just finished a project which required me to work seven days a week, covering 80+ hours a week for nearly 3 months. The overtime total would have accommodated another employee to work seven 40 hour week, just to put it into perspective. During the course of the project, I was led to believe that this was the only way to accomplish this task and that I would not be getting any support resources (i.e. everyone was aware that this was ridiculous, but we "had no choice" other than to prepare for it that way). Refusing to do the work would have created a situation where I would have been in contempt with the demands of my employer. However, I did the work within the parameters and was told twice that compensation (of undertermined value) would be handled when the project was completed. However, it now appears that there is going to be no such action. This schedule included working while ill and immediately following surgery and while I know there is little law violation about exempt employees not being paid for overtime, this seems an offensively barbaric way to manage an employee and I MUST have some kind of rights somewhere. Thanks!

You have the right to leave and find another position.

That is your only recourse. While I don't believe it is a good business practice to burn out employees with excessive work, it is not illegal.

As an exempt employee, you can be required to work 24/7/365 without an increase in monies due to overtime.

Me? I would polish off the old resume if this was a recurring situation.

Only two states in the country have laws limiting mandatory overtime.

Maine allows 80 hours of overtime in any two consecutive calendar weeks, so you could work 80 hours a week for 52 weeks straight and not violate state law.

Additionally, the law does not apply to those in Executive Exempt positions, but it does apply to Administrative and Professional Exemptions.

California allows only 32 hours of overtime in a work week, but the limit does not apply to all occupations and may not apply to any exempt position.

So, right now, there is not much you can do.

Dusting off the resume might help. Complaining to your elected representatives and getting a bill before the state legislature might help you and others in the future, should the bill pass.

Here is the long and short of it: I am an exempt employee; I hold a corporate office position. . .

Are you cerain you are properly categorized as exempt? What are your job duties (what you actually do defines whether you are truly exempt, not the fact you are paid a salary or are called exempt by your employer).

I know it's a little late... but if you are still bitter there is the blue law that every employee is granted atleast one day off per seven on...

A "little" late? How about almost two YEARS late? :eek: The AG's office has a SOL for wage complaints of 2 years.

well... it isn't march 09 yet... so I'm not sure when this was worked...

Look at the date of the original post. Can't be any more recent than that. I doubt very seriously the original poster is going to be coming back now for further information. And even if the law applied here (and I'm not 100% certain that it does) it results only in a fine to the employer; nothing to the employee.

Not to mention the fact that MA blue laws do not apply across the board, but only to retail employees.

Necroposting