I'm trying to get a handle on my company's overtime policies, but it all seems very odd.

I was hired at a NJ financial firm earlier this year. During the interview process, my future boss did say that one of the issues he had with my predecessor was her tendency to 'watch the clock' and not be prepared to work outside of regular hours. During the same interview, and later upon my hire, the head of HR told me one-on-one that "overtime must be authorized in advance...". No problem with that...overtime comes with the territory as asst to the boss, and I was used to working beyond regular hours.

Once there, and in my first week, I asked the HR assistant about submitting my time sheet, and was told "we don't use time sheets here". And her response to my query on overtime was "nobody does overtime here", which actually is not the case. The work week is 35 hours, but many support staff work beyond these hours regularly, and without compensation, I have found out. As to going beyond the 40 hr mark, well - I do that regularly, but without timesheets there's no way to prove it. I presume I am non-exempt, as the issue of overtime was addressed during my interview and at my hire, and support staff are expected to 'make up' time taken to arrive late or leave early. Or is my employer carefully manouvering a gray area...? I am paid twice monthly (as are all staff from the CEO down) but my paystub has no breakdown of hours worked/to date.

The Employee Handbook (which I received upon hire, and had to sign a sheet saying I had read, understood and and agreed with the contents) specifically says that timesheets should be submitted by 11am Friday, and that overtime needs to be authorized in advance.

I've worked both exempt and non-exempt as assistant to the boss in the past, but in this situation I am at a loss. It seems as though the company itself is in violation of it's own Employee Handbook, and thus saves itself a bunch of money.

I am scheduled to run an off-site conference later this year. I'd like to raise the issue of overtime (the conference runs Friday-Sunday, and I must be onsite at all times). I am afraid of rocking the boat and being perceived as a troublemaker. What are my rights here? Many thanks in advance.

Several points.
- There is nothing that says that you cannot keep an accurate time accounting record for yourself. Keep these copies at home and do not use the employer's equipment for this. Assume that anything that was ever on the employer's equipment (email, computers, telephones, whatever) will be read by the employer and used against you. Also assume that anything you say to any employee will be repeated to your employer.
- If any of the "instructions" issued by your employer are in writing, take copies and bring home. If all instructions are verbal then at home (not on your employer's equipment) take notes as close as possible in time to when the instructions where given.
- Assume your employer will try to claim that everyone was Exempt (they have nothing (more) to lose by making the attempt). I will include a webpointer to the federal DOL rules on Exempt classification. You might want to take a look at those yourself and see if a reasonable good argument can be made that you are Exempt. Take it as given that your employer will claim that you are Exempt and take an honest look at whether they have a case. If not, start documenting your case that you are Non-Exempt now.
http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/fairpay/main.htm
- Past that you have two decisions to make. You may or may not file a wage claim, and you may or may not start looking for another job at a hopefully more honest employer. While the employer cannot in theory terminate you for filing a wage claim, they can terminate you for other reasons, including maybe made up ones. The problem with dishonest employers is that once they decide to stop following some rules they have little incentive to follow the rest of the rules.
- I have no idea what NJ specific rules related to this situation are.

My recommendation for whatever it is worth (not much IMO), is to start looking for work now. The only real solution to a dishonest employer is to be elsewhere. Then once you have another job, maybe file a wage claim on your way out the door. Start documenting your wage claim now.

Thanks DAW for your insights. Going by the FLSA guidelines my position can be classified as 'exempt', and does clarify my personal situation. There may also be an argument for classifying some other support personnel as exempt due to the level of skills required, but it would be a weak general argument. Classifying all staff (including Reception and Mail Room staff) as exempt does raise a red flag for me.

While it is not in my interests to file a wage claim, I am not comfortable with the abuse (is that too strong a word?) of employee classification at this company, and I am reconsidering my hopes for a long-term career with this employer. As you sagely put it - if they are dishonest on this issue, what else are they up to?

If you are exempt, then nothing that you have described is illegal.

Hi moburkes. Would you agree that all employees in the entire company must therefore be exempt? Receptionists and stockroom/mailroom personnel included? The company does not pay extra straight time or overtime to any employee, regardless of additional hours worked. Timesheets are not used, so hours are not tracked, and extra time worked is just not recorded - company-wide.

The administrative exemption is subjective but I cannot imagine it would cover all support staff. The Employee Handbook states that the company has both exempt and non-exempt staff. Can an employer legally classify employees as non-exempt but not keep track of their hours, and not compensate them for working extra hours?

No, I would not agree. My answer was based solely on the fact that YOU looked at the information and stated that you met the definitions.

I don't know if the company considers me exempt or not. As asst to the boss I could be classified as either, but it has never been defined for me, and I sense it would not be prudent to inquire. The company requires support staff to make up hours lost due to personal appointments, which follows the non-exempt definition of being paid on an hourly basis, but they don't fulfill their obligations of paying for hours worked beyond the defined work week. The more I think about it the more it stinks.

The chances that the entire staff of any given company meeting the definition of exempt, is so slim as to be practically non-existent. But if YOU meet the definition of exempt, then YOU do not have a claim to make. Even if they have never defined for you whether you are considered exempt or non-exempt, if you meet the definitions, then as far as YOU are concerned, they are legal.

Another employee, who does not meet the definitions, is free to complain.

cbg is correct!

It's not uncommon for Executive Assistants to be properly classified as "exempt" under FLSA. The job duties are the determining factor. To your defense, I do understand your concern. You are concerned that others who are legitimately eligible for overtime pay are not receiving it. cbg is on-point. It is there battle to fight if they are not paid correctly. I realize you mention that "nobody does overtime here". However how do you know that those folks are not receiving it? Are they telling you directly? Are you responsible for preparing the payroll? The problem with hearsay is that it's rarely accurate. The ones you hear fusing may be paid correctly but are just unhappy with the overtime expectation or the pay rate which they receive.