I have been working for a shellfish hatchery and farm for two years now. During the summer we are required to work 12 hour days 7 days a week. No overtime no vacation is this legal. I have missed 1 day due to having to sleep and my job is being threatened. All the laws i read about say that farming and shell fishing are exempt. Thanks in advanced

please help

Relax, you waited all of 7 minutes to post again. It's Sunday evening and this board is staffed totally by volunteers. There are a few posters who know MA very well and I'm sure they'll be along soon to help you.

This is not my area of expertise, but there are possible exceptions for overtime for agricultural employees. The following are the general federal rules. Your state could have it's own rules, and it is possible that there are some industry specific rules that I do not know about.

http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs12.pdf

all those rules seem to exempt fisherman

Massachusetts rules

http://http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/151-1a.htm

I am not sure what you do. Note the exemption for seasonal employees.

well i was fired. Missed 1 day in over a year and a two year history of full time employment and 8 years of summers.

well i was fired. Missed 1 day in over a year and a two year history of full time employment and 8 years of summers.

Your original post seemed geared towards OT, or so I read it. Firing you for missing time, even one hour, is generally not illegal (it would be different if you were really fired because of a reason prohibited by law with the missing time merely being an excuse).

i missed 1 day after working straight pretty much since memorial day. 7 days a week. Ridiculous

i missed 1 day after working straight pretty much since memorial day. 7 days a week. Ridiculous

It might be ridiculous, but it is not illegal unless there is more to what happened.

I would not fire a good employee for missing one day. I would fire a problem child given any good reason to do so.

The FLSA exempts any employee employed in the catching, taking, propagating, harvesting, cultivating, or farming of any kind of fish, shellfish, etc. So you would be exempt from OT under FLSA.

As for State law, MA exempts anyone employed "as a fisherman or as a person employed in the catching or taking of any kind of fish, shellfish or other aquatic forms of animal and vegetable life."

So, it looks like you're probably exempt.

If you were fired for demanding one day of rest in seven under the law, then you might have a retaliation complaint. Of course, you'd have to prove that, and there are exceptions to that rule, too.

It can be complicated, but sounds like you might have something. You might consider calling the Attorney General.