Hello ,
I currently work as a Field Service Engineer for a large electronics automation manufacturer. My employer classifies me as exempt. When I am not working in the field to repair a customers equipment I am in a regional office answering tech support phone calls.I work approximately 5 to 10 hours of overtime a week. Can anyone answer the following:

1) Am I entitled to overtime? If so, how do I document what I have worked?I have EZ-Pass and Airline travel docs.

2) Is the fact that I am to be at the airport 2 hours before a flight constitute overtime?

3) Am I entitled to pay driving to the office? My home is almost 2 hours from the regional office.

4) What do I do if my employer tells me that they are following the law?


Any help would be great.

Thank you,
:eek:

1. Probably. However, the FLSA only requires that you be paid for travel time "away from home" when you are a passenger on a plane, train, bus, etc. the hours you would normally be scheduled to work. So, if your regular schedule is 8-5 with an hour lunch, if you flew, for example, from 4-7 p.m., only 1 hour would be compensable. However, this would be true even if the travel occurred on a non-scheduled work day, such as if you travelled on Sunday.
http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_785/29CFR785.39.htm

Now, if you are travelling between work sites, that IS compensable time, no matter when it occurs.
http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_785/29CFR785.38.htm

It MAY be compensable time under the following reg. The question is, do you have a "fixed" location of work? If you're travelling the majority of the time, even though you may be in the office answering help calls when you aren't in the field, this is questionable at best.
http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_785/29CFR785.37.htm

2. Not under the FLSA, no.

3. No, that is considered commute time and is not compensable. It's not the company's fault that you have a 2-hour commute.
http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_785/29CFR785.35.htm

4. Ask them under what exempt classification they have determined you fall under. Executive, Administrative, Learned Professional, Computer Professional.
http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/fairpay/fs17a_overview.htm

Thank you very much for the quick reply.

How do I get back pay?

How do I prove I worked those hours. It is obvious my employer will probably say I didnt work these hours.

You file a claim with the state Dept. of Labor. The employer will have to prove you didn't work them. Do you have any time records of your own?

I do not have hour sheets showing my exact hours. I can only document it by other means.For example,I can document EZ-pass toll travel. Which shows the time I got on the parkway in the morning and ended at night. The good news is I live right by the entrance so it is almost exact. I also have hotel bills, rental car reciepts, and airline tickets. These clearly show travel outside of my 8AM-5PM work day.

Is this sufficient? I hope :)

Thanks again for your advice.

Again, anything you have is better than nothing, but the burden will be on the employer to prove you didn't work what you say you worked.

You are extremely helpful!!!


I was going to let this go but now it looks like I may have something here.

Have a great day!

You're welcome. Can't hurt to give it a shot; you'd be no worse off than you are now.

Hello, stasirock!

If you need records, start copying your customer's copies of their field service reports now. That's the best evidence you have for hours worked. I'm a field engineer also, and I KNOW I should be paid overtime. I just need to find out HOW to build a case now ... preferrably without getting fired!

As you know, field engineers are a totally different ball of yarn, as far as hours worked and working conditions are concerned. We DEFINATELY are abused on a regular basis by most companies! We are also -- in most cases -- legally due TONS of overtime (and back pay)!

Don't drop the ball on this one, stasirock. You have a valid argument for being paid overtime! I have been working with an EXCELLENT attorney who I'm sure can assist you! Please contact me for their name and telephone number!

Feel free to contact me at your leisure. I don't respond from my company laptop, but, when I get back home, I'll respond!

Good luck!
california(at)techie(dot)com

I filed a claim with the NJ department of Labor. They determined that the company is wrong, and that if I can prove that I worked overtime, I may be entitled to monies. Isn't the employer responsible to prove I didn't work the overtime? They told the investigator that they have no documentation of my hours and can't disprove anything. I am now supposed to go and meet with the NJDOL referee and the employer. Any ideas on what I should do? I have alot of documents that show I was away from home during business hours but am afraid that they will bring in a lawyer and side with the employer.

I am not expert in this matter. My only advise is to take your best guess and to tell the truth. Do not lie. Do not exagerate. Do not worry about things that you have no control over. Bring what support you do have to the meeting. You will not be the first claimant to have less then perfect documentation of time worked, and it was your employer who was under legal obligation to maintain these records.

It looks like the DOL is giving the company some time to think about paying me before going to see the referee. I would have to imagine that the company will be contesting this , that is why I have am getting my ducks in a row. :D

I would like to know if anyone can tell me of court cases where field service engineers were mis-classified and found the employer guilty. I have to go in front of the NJ DOL and I beleive my employers defense will be that my job falls under the professional exemption. I in fact know that being a field engineer that also answers technical support phone calls I am entitled to overtime. I can document my overtime but wanted to make sure I can refute their claims that the position is Exempt. This will only reinforce my case.


Thanks,
CS

I would like to know if anyone can tell me of court cases where field service engineers were mis-classified and found the employer guilty. I have to go in front of the NJ DOL and I beleive my employers defense will be that my job falls under the professional exemption. I in fact know that being a field engineer that also answers technical support phone calls I am entitled to overtime. I can document my overtime but wanted to make sure I can refute their claims that the position is Exempt. This will only reinforce my case.


Thanks,
CS

The professional exemption is a stretch. The professional exemption is for people like lawyers, doctors, teachers, other professions which require completion of an advanced field of study. However, the fact that you also answer technical support phone calls does not, in and of itself, does not mean that you automatically wouldn't qualify as exempt.

Explain what you do on a regular basis.

My job responsibilities included answering technical support phone calls, travelling to customers and repairing machinery. I was responsible for documenting all of the phone calls into a customer database.I also was responsible for making my own travel arrangements as well filling out my own expense reports.I also was responsible with obtaining purchase orders from customers and verifying that the customer had sufficient credit.If they did not have credit they were directed to my manager, or the credit department. I did NOT have any managerial responsibility I was NOT responsible for what a customer was charged for my visit. If a problem arose with a customer, or a question arose regarding a customer problem, they were directed to my regional manager. I estimate that I travelled approximately 50 % of the time.


Do you happen to know of any cases that were similar with an outcome in favor of the employee?

I don't, but it certainly sounds nonexempt to me. Good luck.:)

Thanks. Maybe someone else can reply with a similar case so I can bring this with me when I visit the referee. I just hope that my documentation will be enough to prove what I am owed.