Unreasonable Overtime

[NewBaby]

My wife is returning to work in about a month from maternity leave. She's a CPA for a major pharma corp. The company merged with another just before she left on maternity leave and she was told her job would be changing but given no details. She had to accept the new job w/o knowing hours or salary with the choice of quitting if she did not accept. They now expect her to work about 3 weekends and several nights overtime per quarter. Before she went out on leave her ours were very standard 9-5 with little or no exception. She can't possibly work these hours with a new baby and has been told she can quite if she wants. Thanks!!! Is she entitled to severence if the job's hours are significantly different than what she had been working? And, if she does work this overtime is she due additional pay beyond her regular salary?

[cbg]

Duplicate post

[NewBaby]

Thought my question might get a wider audience outside of NJ specific forum.

[CurtJ.]

She was working a 9-5? In jersey? In pharma? Geez, either she was lucky or not very well liked. Anyway, kiss those days good bye. no one has a 9-5 anymore. start at 8-6 and work upwards. no doubt she is salaried, so they can work her as much or as little as possible. she is exempt from o/t laws, especially now with the new exempt regs no one fought. while it would be unlawful to make a mother (or pregnant woman) work harder or different due to her maternal or pregnant status, the narrative here shows a merger of pharma. big business. no discrim, just a company working its employees like the rest of the country is worked. claiming that anything beyond a 9-5 in pharma in jersey is retaliation or disrcim is plain silly. sorry to be so blunt, but even the judge hearing the case is working 8-6, and often to 7 while his clerks work longer (don't ask me how I know). My wife now works big pharma in jersey (not your co.), and while it was a godsend from working fortune 5 telecom in jersey, her hours only decreased from 12 to 10 per day, exclusive of breaks, lunch, etc.

Sad to say, but gotta decide between career and child.

good luck

curt j.

[NewBaby]

Thanks Curt. I appreciate you're candor and yes she was lucky to have an accounting job with such good hours. The type of work she was doing did not entail the normal long hours associated with accounting. Sadly that has changed-nothing to do with her having a baby. My point is the dramatic change in hours and my wife's concern that she will be unable to meet those demands now that we have a baby to care for. Bottom line- she has no recourse at all?

[Beth3]

My point is the dramatic change in hours and my wife's concern that she will be unable to meet those demands now that we have a baby to care for. Bottom line- she has no recourse at all? No. If your wife doesn't care for the terms and conditions of her employment, she is free to find a new position elsewhere, although I expect she'll find that the great majority of her working peers are there are working more hours than even your wife's new work schedule requires.

I understand about the new baby but I'm struggling to understand why having to work several weekends and evenings per quarter is such a shock. I expect most of your wife's peers are working more hours than that on a weekly basis.

[Stinger958]

I work were all my co workers are all claiming some type of a sick problem and getting notes from doctors. By these notes they are getting better work better days off less time of work. All the good people that don;t make up a bs story are getting screwed. The supervisor is letting this happen . Any advice.