NJ - working overtime as exempt employee

[tumbras]

I am an exempt employee (IT support analyst) for my company. Recently, we have been ASKED to work overtime - which has averaged to be 16 hour days. Now, it has always been an understanding with my company that for exempt employees - there is no overtime pay - fine, but that given "comp" time was at the descretion of the manager. Being that my requests for comp time have been denied, AND working overtime hours has been ASKED of us -NOT stated as being mandatory.. do i legally have to work these hours?
My contract states that i am a full-time, salaried employee working 37.5 hours a week - if that makes sense...

thanks in advance!

[Beth3]

Your contract? Are you sure you have a genuine employment contract and that you're not referring to an employment offer letter or something along those lines?

[tumbras]

Originally Posted by Beth3

Your contract? Are you sure you have a genuine employment contract and that you're not referring to an employment offer letter or something along those lines?

no, this is a genuine emplyment contract.. (i've been with company for 4 1/2 years) - i guess i was a bit misleading by saying "contract", im not an independent contractor if that's what you were meaning.

we've recently changed management. In the past, they've been flexible with compensating us on a fair basis for any extra time we've worked - its just that with this new management (within our IT structure) they have denied our requests for comp time.. no "new" documentation has been given to us by way of a new employment agreement because its just dealing with management change in our department, not the company as a whole.

hope this helps clarify.
~n


~n

[Beth3]

Thanks. No, I didn't think you were an IC. I only questioned whether there was actually an employment contract in place. What most posters call a contract is usually nothing more than an offer letter.

Since there is a contract in place, I can only refer you back to that document. Absent a contract, you can be required to work for as many hours as the employer requires and there are no laws that require employers to provide comp time or overtime pay to exempt employees. If the matter of your work hours and comp time is not addressed in the contract, then you're probably SOL until such time as a new contract is negotiated and you can put those items on the table.