Hello,
My husband has been working for a Point of Sales Company installing systems in restaurants, and also maintaining these systems once they have been installed for a little over a year ago. It is a very small company with about 20 employees. They have an office in Philidelphia, and in Indianapolis. When he was initially hired, he was informed that there would be travel on his job, but was told only about 1-2 times per month, less than 20% of the time. He had no problem with this and accepted this. He is a salaried employee, but I have no idea as to whether he is exempt or not.
Now, a year later, he is expected to go out of town every week, Monday through Friday. He has to drive to all of the locations, most of which are in Chicago. He is generally having to make many stops, and works from 8am-midnight (and many times later). No one tells him he has to work these hours, but if he doesn't get the jobs done quick enough his 2 bosses give him a really hard time, and pressure him a lot and threaten that he will have to stay the weekend, or ask him why he isn't getting the job done. There have been many many times that he has worked until midnight in Chicago, and had to drive home in the middle of the night because his boss demanded that he back to the office (in Indianapolis) in the morning to get stuff done there. My husband has already gotten into one accident because he fell asleep at the wheel on a trip home.
I have calculated the last 3 weeks that he has worked, and he has worked 81, 82, and 87 hours respectively. No overtime and no comp time.
He also has to be on call once every 6 weeks. He is on call 24/7 for this week. However, his boss demands that he also go out of town, and work on location at the same time. During these weeks my husband is not only working 8am-midnight, but he is also answering calls at 2am, 4am, 6am, etc., and these calls sometimes last 2-3 hours. During his on call week, they also demand that he work 9am-5pm in the office on Saturday.
Even when he is not on call, he is considered the "Lead" Technician, and has to be available 100% of the time to the 3 technicians below him.
So, this past weekend on Saturday and spending the whole day in the office, he reached a point where he just couldn't do it- he was so tired and burned out that he fell asleep standing up. He called his boss, and told him that he couldn't go out of town this next week, and could not finish his week being on call. He explained to his boss that he had not spent any time with his family in over 4 weeks.
They do not pay him overtime, and nothing has ever been mentioned about comp time. He needs to take time off next week because we have a family member that is very sick, and both of his bosses have really given him a hard time about it.
This is the part that is really bothering me above all else. When he came into the office Monday morning, they screamed at him, so that everyone could hear, and then since then they ( and I mean everyone one in the office) are creating a hostile situation by saying things like, "Oh, I'm surprised your wife let you come into work today", or "Shouldn't you call your wife to see if it is okay to eat lunch?"
I really feel as though this situation is completely ridiculous. The obvious solution would be for him to quit, but with the hours he works, and the fact that he is out of town all week, he has no way to look for another job. Finally, he is the only one in the office that still has a relationship intact. Everyone else has had their wife or significant other leave them.
Please tell me if this is as unfair as I think it is, and if so what should I do about it? I am VERY worried that the next time my husband falls asleep at the wheel that he may not live to tell about it.
Sincerely,
A concerned wife
Brandi McClintic

Yes, it's unfair. However except for a possible wage and hour violation, no laws are being broken. No laws require the bosses to be reasonable, limit the number of hours an employee can be expected to work, provide comp time, or allow an employee time to spend with their family.

The only possible legal issue here is whether your husband should be receiving overtime. If his job can be classified as exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act, then there are no circumstances in which he need to be paid any overtime or provided with comp time. If his job should be classified as non-exempt, then he must be paid overtime however comp time in lieu of overtime pay is strictly prohibited by the same law.

Given the nature of your husband's job, I expect determining exempt or non-exempt status may be tricky. The best thing to do is to contact your State's Department of Labor, describe his duties and responsibilities, and see what they say. Or you can take a read through the FLSA at www.dol.gov.

Clearly, though, your husband needs to find a new job asap. This one is killing him.

This response surprises me. Is this only in Indiana? I read a thread yesterday that was very similar to my husbands situation, and the responding party said that this would be considered abuse.
Also, I want to make sure I understand this, if my husbands gets severly injured or killed driving because he is so tired from his job, I have no recourse? If this is the case, then this is a law that needs to be changed.
You are also saying that my husbands boss/company is not creating a hostile work environment by encouraging everyone to badger my husband about his personal choices?
I know that where I work, we cannot do that. I've always been given the impression from my Human Resources Director that this is a state thing, not just our corporation. We had a lady here (at my company) that wrote down her time always, so we could not demand that she worked overtime. We could ask, but if she refused, we could not make her, she just showed what hours she worked, and if it was 40 or more, there was nothing that we could do. Not sure I understand the differences.
Is there anyway to get involved in trying to change these laws? This is unbelievable. I never realized that the government was so one-sided on protecting the employer. It seems like some kind of civil right is being violated to me. My husbands company is running a sweat shop, and it is perfectly legal.
Thanks,
Brandi

I read a thread yesterday that was very similar to my husbands situation, and the responding party said that this would be considered abuse. I don't know what thread you read but the boss being abusive is not illegal. No laws require bosses to be nice people or reasonable.

Also, I want to make sure I understand this, if my husbands gets severly injured or killed driving because he is so tired from his job, I have no recourse? Depending on the particulars, the employer would have liability for his injuries or death under their worker's compensation insurance but that's not going to provide either of you with a windfall - nor would a windfall remotely adequately compensate your husband or your family if a tragedy occurred.

You are also saying that my husbands boss/company is not creating a hostile work environment by encouraging everyone to badger my husband about his personal choices? Yes, that is what I'm saying. That is not a hostile (unlawful) work environment. I'm not saying your husband's situation is acceptable, I'm simply saying it doesn't violate any laws.

I know that where I work, we cannot do that. I've always been given the impression from my Human Resources Director that this is a state thing, not just our corporation. We had a lady here (at my company) that wrote down her time always, so we could not demand that she worked overtime. We could ask, but if she refused, we could not make her, she just showed what hours she worked, and if it was 40 or more, there was nothing that we could do. Not sure I understand the differences Apparently people where you work don't understand the law. There are no laws in any State or at the federal level that say an employer can't require an employee to work more than 40 hours, regardless of whether the employee is exempt or non-exempt. Employers mandate an employee's work schedule - including that they work more than 40 hours a week. The only difference here between exempt and non-exempt employees is that the latter must be paid overtime.

Is there anyway to get involved in trying to change these laws? You can write your State or Congressional representatives but I don't think any State or the federal government is going to sponsor a bill that allows employees to dictate what their work schedule will be. A few States have a law that requires "one day of rest in seven" but that's about it.

This is unbelievable. I never realized that the government was so one-sided on protecting the employer. It seems like some kind of civil right is being violated to me. My husbands company is running a sweat shop, and it is perfectly legal. While employees do have quite a few protections under various State and federal laws, the power in the employment relationship is with management. They set the rules, terms, and conditions of employment and employees have to follow them. Employees always have the ultimate right though - which is to find a new job and quit the one they have any time they like. Employers, on the other hand, have the "right" to experience the tremendous costs and business setbacks associated with high levels of turnover when they don't treat their employees decently. There are real and very genuine costs an organization experiences when the don't run their businesses well and manage people poorly.

Clearly your husband needs to find a new position as quickly as possible.