My husband works in the gas fields for a company that delivers product to maintain gas wells. They have him on salary but he consistantly works a 12 hour day and usually more than that for 12 days straight and then gets 2 to 4 days off unless there is more work for him in which case it might be only 2 days off and then back to the 12 days in a row at 12 + hours per day.

He thinks that because he was hired on Salary that this is okay but I am getting pretty fed up with the whole thing. When he works all of these extra hours for no additional pay he is making the company a lot of money but receives no further compensation to himself for it.

Is this legal for the company to only pay him a set salary and expect him to put in 70 to 80 or more hours per week? :mad:

What exactly does he do?

If he is salary exempt, yes, it is legal. However, let's see if he is exempt first. As Elle asked, what are his job duties? Thanks.

He drives a truck with a big tank on it and delivers hazardous liquid which he pumps into other tanks at the drill sites. This is not an over the road long haul type job. It is fairly localized but driving to sites that can be up to 150 miles away. He goes home every night.

He drives a truck with a big tank on it and delivers hazardous liquid which he pumps into other tanks at the drill sites. This is not an over the road long haul type job. It is fairly localized but driving to sites that can be up to 150 miles away. He goes home every night.
Under Colorado Wage Order 22; Interstate Drivers, Driver Helpers, Loaders, or Mechanics of Motor Carriers are exempt from overtime pay.

He is not an Interstate Driver. He is a local delivery driver who performs other duties in addition to the driving. Filling and draining tanks that contain hazardous material.

Does he drive out of state?

She said he is not interstate - drives local or do you think she doesn't realize what interstate involves?

She said he is not interstate - drives local or do you think she doesn't realize what interstate involves?
Hey quit with the attitude! I asked, because 150 miles for oil drill sites and last I knew having lived on Colorado for a long time there were no drilling sites, so his drive could involve driving to wyoming or other states and if that is the case then he is interstate.

Hey yourself, I asked because she said he didn't drive interstate (drives local). I was just wondering if you assumed she didn't know what interstate meant - I was wondering why you asked otherwise. Sorry!!

I think one time only did he drive into Utah. He's been working for this company for 3 years. All of what he does is pretty localized to a certain area that is probably within a 50 mile or less radius. Sometimes he might go further but it is not over the road interstate driving. It is going up a lot of mountain roads to these natural gas wells that are located in Colorado.

You did know what interstate meant.
It seems there is drilling done in Colorado.

I'm not sure he is exempt - hold for other opinions.

I'm not sure he is exempt - hold for other opinions.

This is outside my area of expertise, but there is a chance that the employee still falls under the Motor Carrier exception.

http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/whdfs19.pdf

Safety affecting employees who have not made an actual interstate trip may still be exempt if:
a) The employer is shown to have an involvement in interstate commerce; and
b) The employee could, in the regular course of employment, reasonably have been expected to make an interstate journey or could have worked on the motor vehicle in such a way as to be safety affecting.

It was certainly out of my level of expertise - I thought maybe you or Patty might have something add'l. to add. Thanks. (I can see where it *might* fall under the motor carrier exception.)