My brother works as an office director for a nationwide model agency, headquarters is out of New Jersey if that matters. He is only paid commission and due to recent changes in his employment regiment, he is now being mandated to work 7 days a week, 8-10 hours a day. He, of course, does not want to nor does he have an opportunity to even make a commission in 2 out of the 7 days. Is there any legal recourse? Is it even legal to mandate a 7 day work schedule in a commission only position? Just to pad this with more information, 2 out of the 7 days he is simply there to train and observe talent scouts on the field on how to better pickup talent. This could be perceived as 'earning commission' because when his scouts pickup talent, and they pay fees, thats his commission. So basically, what can my brother legally do, request, and demand in this situation if he does NOT want to work a 7 day work week with no compensation other than his commission which he cannot directly earn 2 out of the 7 days. My e-mail address is thevandalz@hotmail.com. I really appreciate any assitance in this matter. We are in San Diego, CA btw.

If he is qualifies for the outside sales exemption under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, no additional compensation is required. See here:
http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/whdfs17.htm

In any case, if that's the hours the employer is requiring, then that's the hours he is expected to work, with one exception. California does have a "one day rest in seven" law. See here, specifically sections 551 and 552:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=lab&group=00001-01000&file=500-558

Thank you so much for these resources. Now a new question has arisen tho. He does NOT qualify for outside sales exemption. He makes all of his sales in his office which he is required to be at 7 days a week. How would this affect my brother? Today he mentioned that he may not be able to do a 7 day work week, every week, and his job was basically threatened. What can he do? He does not want to lose the job, but doesn't want to be taken advantage of and would definately prefer not to work 365 days a year. If he gets fired because he refuses to work the seventh day, is there any course of action we can take? It doesn't seem right at all to me, especially since he is paid by commission only.

if I understand correctly, the outside sales exemption applies to sales done OUTSIDE of the employers place of business right? And as far as the 7day rest day laws, how does that apply to his employment if the corporate office is based out of detroit? Are they still liable under CA laws? Thank you very much for your help again.

I wanted to add 1 more thing. After he told the corporate manager that requested he work 7 days a week that he did not want to, she sent a text message to the corporate owners and CC'ed him stating this. "You have someone thats nto willing to do what needs to be done, you have damaged goods in <bro's name>". This was sent to both my brother and the owners of the company. Any advice or legal recourse that we can take would be much appreciated.

Unless, he qualifies instead under the administrative or executive exemption, that means that he is a nonexempt employee and must be paid 1.5 overtime for all all hours worked over 8 up to 12 in a day; double time for over 12 in a day; double time for over 8 on the sixth consecutive day in the workweek (as defined by the employer). This is California law. See here:
http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_Overtime.htm

And if he is fired for reporting a violation of the "one day rest in seven" provision, the failure to pay overtime, or any other wage and hour violation, he can add a claim of wrongful termination to the mix.

The reason I refer to California law is that the state in which the employee works is the one whose labor laws appl; the fact that the company is headquartered in another state is irrelevant.

He can contact the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement to file the appropriate claims/complaints.