I live in Oregon, I was called in with my boss and the HR administrator to talk about some issues. When I was hired I was hired at $28,500 for a salary plus commissions. I never recieved a raise in the past 2 1/2 years although the handbook states I should have recieved one. As a salaried salesperson I was not on a set schedule of work hours, as long as I put my 40 hours in per week I was able to set my hours (If I came in at 6 I would leave at 3 or 4). I never had to tell anyone that I was leaving. My boss stated a few days before that I needed to tell him if was leaving early (I didn't consider when I came in at 7am and left at 4pm as leaving early, a normal work day for me). I must also add that I work after hours, weekends, sometimes 14 hour days due to being a salaried employee. In this meeting my boss stated that I was an hourly employee as of March. I stated that I was not aware of this I didn't sign any documentation stating that I was going from a salaried employee to a houly employee, nor is there any documentation on this in my file. Is this type of switch illegal to do without the employees knowledge or documentation? Is the overtime that I have put in over the last 4 months payable in backpay due to the change of salary to hourly? Can I be terminated for normal sales hours (which vary from day to day
for the past 2 1/2 years depending on customers needs) of work and leaving at 4:30 when I had already worked a full shift? Your help is greatly appreciated.

I live in Oregon, I was called in with my boss and the HR administrator to talk about some issues. When I was hired I was hired at $28,500 for a salary plus commissions. I never recieved a raise in the past 2 1/2 years although the handbook states I should have recieved one. As a salaried salesperson I was not on a set schedule of work hours, as long as I put my 40 hours in per week I was able to set my hours (If I came in at 6 I would leave at 3 or 4). I never had to tell anyone that I was leaving. My boss stated a few days before that I needed to tell him if was leaving early (I didn't consider when I came in at 7am and left at 4pm as leaving early, a normal work day for me). I must also add that I work after hours, weekends, sometimes 14 hour days due to being a salaried employee. In this meeting my boss stated that I was an hourly employee as of March. I stated that I was not aware of this I didn't sign any documentation stating that I was going from a salaried employee to a houly employee, nor is there any documentation on this in my file. Is this type of switch illegal to do without the employees knowledge or documentation? Is the overtime that I have put in over the last 4 months payable in backpay due to the change of salary to hourly? Can I be terminated for normal sales hours (which vary from day to day
for the past 2 1/2 years depending on customers needs) of work and leaving at 4:30 when I had already worked a full shift? Your help is greatly appreciated.

HI there.
The first place I would start is by looking at your pay stub and asking for written documentation that you were indeed put on hourly rate and what that rate is.
Then--if you are hourly, you must be paid 1.5 times your normal rate for any hours over 40 worked in each work week.

As far as termination, as long as it is not based on discrimination ie sex, age, creed, then employment without a contract is pretty much at - will and can be terminated by either party.

Keep us posted and let me know if you have furhter questions.

Sue is absolutely right on overtime. She is also right about "employment at will". I wanted to expand a little on that concept. Your employer has the authority to make any changes in your position, so long as the changes are not illegal. So, even if you have been working a flexible schedule in the past, your employer has the authority to change your hours. The only time such a change may not be legal is if the change is discriminatory...meaning that you are being singled out because of a legally protected status, such as gender, race, age, religion, etc. Discrimination can be hard to prove. However, in a nutshell, if you are treated differently than others because of your status, you may be the victim of discrimination.

On the other hand, if your employer has made the change effective for all persons, regardless of their race, age, gender, religion, national origin, etc., then discrimination does not probably exist and, therefore, you will need to follow the rules of your employer.

Before taking an adversarial position, perhaps you can look at this from your employer's perspective...perhaps you may wish to change your schedule, etc., to confirm with his/her requirements.

Let us know if you have additional questions.