Unfair work practices... North Carolina

[KidWhiskey]

First off, hello all. I'm new to the forum and have read over a few a discussions and it seems appropriate to voice some concerns here.

This might get a little drawn out. I will attempt to make it as compact as possible.

I'm a salaried employee for a company in NY state. I telecommute in NC. I work ridiculously long hours on a regular basis (70+), which includes a great deal of travel. We get 1/2 hour of comp time for every hour over 50. So there is some degree of compensation. My concern however is that I am on call 24/7 with no incentives or perks or anything. This being on call does not fit into the 70+ hours aforementioned. That being said, it's not such a big deal except that I'm expected to take calls even on my days off. This includes holidays, vacation days, comp days, weekends, etc. leaving no room to actually be able to do something productive in personal life. Is anyone aware of any type of laws forbidding this type of activity. If I tell my employer that they are going to have to give me another day off because I was taking calls on a holiday?

Thanks in advance.

[DAW]

You have two different issues.
- Can the employer make you work very long hours, whenever they want? Probably yes, unless you are something like an airline pilot or minor children employee. A few states have weak general restrictions in this area, but NC is not one of the states generally mentioned.
- Past that "salaried" is just a payment method and really does not mean much by itself. Of much greater importance is whether you are Exempt (someone who has no legal expectation of paid overtime) or Non-Exempt (someone who generally must be paid overtime). While employers can still mostly work Non-Exempt employees very long hours, the fact that those hours must be paid for tends to act as a deterrent.

Do you know your Exempt status? If not, you might try posting your actual job duties (not just the job title) and the nature of the employer's business.

[KidWhiskey]

I'm "exempt". I don't expect to get overtime or extra pay. I just think that when I have a day off it should be just that. No interruptions from work while on my deserved personal time.

[cbg]

I don't disagree with you and believe me, I am in complete sympathy. I have yet to have a weekend go by without several calls from my boss. However, there is no law prohibiting either your boss or mine from calling either of us on our time off.

[jchen]

can't you just not pick up the phone?

[DAW]

can't you just not pick up the phone?

Sure. Of course, the employer can also just terminate the employee for not picking up the phone.