I have been in restaurant management for many years. I work here in Florida, and I may be past the 40% rule. Because cutting labor means to work a 10 hour kitchen shift a week, and 1-2 hours every day.

If managers are not specifically told how many hours a week we will be expected to work, what if we go over 60 hours? I read CFR Title 29 778.411 and assumed I had a verbal contract that was in place to work for $700 a week plus a bonus of 0.5% to 1% of profit. My original manager's training manual only said 5 days one week, 6 days the next. This gives 6 days off every 4 week period.

We work a minimum of 50 hours and up to 72 hours (6x12hrs), but my check says 40 hours of vacation pay, and 16 hours of personal time.

Now that I was released without cause, I have filled unemployment and have found out more about labor laws and just need some help.

What if a salary manager is mandated over 60 hours, because "whatever it takes"?
Is it law to pay me my personal time, and vacation in FL?
If I worked 30 hours in 3 days before getting fired can they deduct my pay for the last 2 days of the pay week (was employed 5 of 7 days)?

You can be required to work as many hrs. as your employer requests/requires you to. If you don't, you can be disciplined up to & including being fired.

Fl. has no law that personal time/vacation time needs to be paid out at termination.

It is not required that you be paid for any days you did not actually work before your termination.

I don't know what "40% rule" you're talking about. All the FLSA regs say is that your "primary duty" must meet the criteria for exempt status.

Now, if you are spending more than 50% of your time on a regular basis doing nonexempt work, that may invalidate the exemption.

I thought that to get exempt status your job duties must not be more than 40% of the hourly/non-management duties. That is in question with DOL.


I do not have an hourly rate so I would be paid as little as 50% (30 hours worked in an expected 60 hour week) to 75% (30 of 40 hour work week) of my weekly rate.

Thanks for all the feedback..

If managers are not specifically told how many hours a week we will be expected to work, what if we go over 60 hours? I read CFR Title 29 778.411 and assumed I had a verbal contract that was in place to work for $700 a week plus a bonus of 0.5% to 1% of profit. My original manager's training manual only said 5 days one week, 6 days the next. This gives 6 days off every 4 week period.


All regulations in the 29 CFR 778.xxx range apply to Non-Exempt employees only. That particular regulation only applies to certain Non-Exempt employees.

"Salary" and "hourly" are just payment methods and do not mean much by themselves. Of more importance is if you are Exempt (no legal right to paid overtime) or Non-Exempt (right to paid overtime). If you are Exempt Salaried, then those employees are covered by the 29 CFR 541.xxx regulations, mostly 29 CFR 541.602.

The key question would seem to be if you are Exempt or Non-Exempt. Many or most "managers" are Exempt under either the Executive or Administrative classifications.
http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/fairpay/main.htm