I'm a non-exempt employee and I receive hourly + commission in a retail environment. I'm also a full time student and I volunteer somewhere in the mornings that I don't have classes. When closing at my job, sometimes managers will keep us well after our scheduled time until "everything is clean". Lately it hasn't been bad, we get out at 11:35pm when scheduled until 11pm, compared to times in the past when we would be scheduled until 10pm and not leave until 1am in the morning. Also, our system automatically clocks us out at 10:45pm, 15 minutes before our scheduled shifts end.

Obviously I have other duties in the mornings that make it hard for me to be out late. I have two questions. One is that am I within my rights to request compensation for the extra 45 minutes of time worked? 15 of which are within my scheduled shift and the extra 30 minutes of time we're all still there doing work.

My other question is are there any specifications on an employee being required to work outside his scheduled hours? Specifically, can I face disciplinary action if I were to leave when my shift ends, and not stay the extra time it takes for a manager to be satisfied enough to tell people it's ok to go? My school tends to be important enough for me to get home at a reasonable hour, but I don't want to cause major waves at my job either for wanting to go home when I'm scheduled to go home.

Thanks in advance.

You absolutely are within your rights to demand compensation for all the time you are working. There are no circumstances whatsoever under which you can be required to work for free. As a non-exempt employee, you MUST be paid for all the time you actually work, and overtime for any hours over 40 in a work week. This is Federal law and there are no exceptions.

However, you can face disciplinary action up to and including termination for leaving before your employer says, whether it's the end of your shift or not. There is no legal significance to "the end of a shift" - you work the hours that your employer says you work, period. There are limited exceptions but they do not apply in this case. There are no laws anywhere in the US that give you the guaranteed and protected right to leave when your shift ends if your employer says otherwise. The only exception would be if you had a legally binding and enforceable contract or CBA that EXPRESSLY, and I mean in so many words, said otherwise.

Thank you, that answers my question completely.