I had posted previously about having accepted a new job and it pretty much being a nightmare. In addition to many other things I have not received the raise I was told I would receive after 90 days and I have figured out that the owner uses paying a "salary" as a way to skirt paying overtime. For example, if it is a slow week he will try to send you home and not pay you for that day, then on other days I am frequently staying as much as 2 hours past the time I am supposed to leave. Of course since I am "salaried" he does not pay me overtime. Another example would be this coming Friday (the day after Thanksgiving), I was told no one would be there and I could choose to come to work or not but if I didn't come to work I wouldn't be paid for the day. There are instances with other employees as well, we have at least one hourly employee and the owner makes him come in on Saturday to work but refuses to pay him overtime, only normal time even though it is over 40 hours. The owner is not hard up for money either, he is making money hand over fist. He is literally the greediest person I have ever met. I guess my question is how illegal is this and if it is how can I document it so that I can actually prove my claims?

Yup.

It sucks.  It's also totally legal if you are salary.

Deal with it.

EDIT: Depending on the work, not paying an hourly employee overtime past 40 hours may be illegal.

Read the GA DOL regs.... it is very clear.....need more info about duties, job class to make determination

I know kitchen jobs on salary cannot work overtime.

My postion is a purchasing agent.

He is breaking the law. The salary designation is meaningless when it comes to the law.  The only exempt employees are managers.

If you report him they will come in and audit his books and require him to pay all past overtime hours to every employee he has.

It sounds like you don't like your boss. I'd quit if I was you.

It depends on the state....the laws differ. Some states only allow for x number of hours per week on salary....some don't.



I know of a big company that owned motels in Kommiefornia which had to pay millions in back wages to their resident managers because they were required to be 'on property' 24 hours a day except going to the bank, grocery store, and their day off. The court found that grossly exceeded the spirit of the salary agreement....but that was Kommiefornia.



You'll need to study up on your state's labor laws.

I gave up a better job and moved to come to this one and in doing so burned some bridges based on false promises from my current employer. Like I said its a nightmare. I would love to quit but I am not in a position financially to do that right now. Yes, I am looking for other jobs.

I found this;


Q: I accepted a job, which is salaried, so I don't get paid for any overtime. I accepted the job (out of financial necessity) at a lower rate than I normally would have accepted. After a year of working there, my initial impression of being on salary is very different from what the reality is. If I have to leave a half-hour early or late I am docked, but I work about 3-7 hours of OT each week. If a meeting comes up before or after work, I am required to go, and it can take anywhere from 1 to 3 hours. I have addressed some of the issues with my manager, but have not received a response. Any suggestions for how to approach this at my annual review so that I can request a proper salary increase? Or perhaps some guidance for a more realistic view of being a salaried employee?

A: An annual review is an opportunity to reflect on your accomplishments during the past year and to set some mutually agreed upon goals for the coming year. If you showcase your contributions to the company, this should help you earn the highest raise that your company is now able to provide, and bring you closer to your desired salary level. Resist complaining the whole time about your salary and the lack of overtime. In fact, before you even mention your concerns, you need to understand a bit more about the two main types of salaried employees and the complex regulations that govern overtime.



Many employers assume incorrectly that salaried employees are exempt from earning overtime pay, but that’s not always true. Let me explain. Only white-collar employees who meet the following three-part overtime exemption test are ineligible to receive overtime pay:

1. The worker’s primary job responsibilities are executive, administrative or managerial in nature;
2. The employee is paid a guaranteed fixed salary, regardless of variations in hours worked;
3. The employee’s salary level is at least $455/week or the equivalent
says Dan Field, a partner with Morgan, Brown & Joy, LLP.

If your job meets all three criteria of the overtime exemption test, your employer does have the right to require you to attend – without additional pay - meetings that occur outside of regular business hours. Also, your employer should not be docking your pay if you come in late or leave early. (“Docking” does not mean deductions from your bank of paid time off - e.g., personal, vacation, and/or sick time.)

If, on the other hand, your job fails to meet all three of the criteria above, your employer must pay you time-and-a-half (overtime) for any hours you work in excess of 40 hours in a given week. In addition, your employer may dock you if you come in late or leave work early.

If your employer denies you overtime while simultaneously docking you for schedule variations, you may want to contact an employment attorney or the Attorney General’s Fair Labor Division Hotline

The typical standard for determining if a position is exempt (salaried) or non-exempt (hourly) is the independent nature of job duties.   If half or more of your time is spent making independent decisions, you are likely exempt.

Do you ever serve customers at a counter?

No disrespect ...meaning do you deal with customers during work hours?

Do you perform any sales?

if so you may be exempt....



see here ...these regs superceede GA regs.....


http://www.dol.gov/elaws/esa/flsa/screen75.asp

There is a specific clause in most states labor laws that allow administration positions, purchasing being specifically mentioned in my state for example, to be salaried exempt. You are probably classified properly as salaried exempt.

As for the hosing you are getting by not being paid for unscheduled days, what can I say. Your boss is a dick, but probably acting within the law. Salaried positions are generally not in an employees interests unless you are compensated highly.

I would look for a different job with a more ethical boss. Nothing good comes from people who act as you are describing.

I'm fighting this battle right now because I work for an advanced IT helpdesk (I say advanced because it is a lot more demanding than the off-the-streets jobs this usually entails) and everyone was hired in as salaried-exempt. This means that our company is "exempt" from the FLSA laws regarding overtime pay and compensation. The bullshit about this is that the ONLY way that they can say we fit this description is because we are in the IT field.

We are definitely NOT computer analysts working projects-oriented work directly with computers and software. We support the end users and second-level, and run a 24x7 desk. We have to sign in at exact times, work an 8.5 hour shift, get 2x 15min breaks a day (2 hours in and 2 hours prior to end of duty) and get a half-hour lunch in the center. Now, people that don't understand FLSA laws say quit bitching about it, sometimes you work overtime without pay but it evens out. In our case, it DOESN'T! We don't get to come in late or leave early ever because we must maintain balanced shifts to provide coverage.

Every helpdesk I have ever worked in and heard of is hourly, it's asinine to have us salaried. But here's the catch: from speaking with HR (in other companies, we have exactly 0 HR support) I've found that companies can lose exemption status and be required to pay overtime and other comp if they do not meet ALL of the criteria for being exempt. One of the first things they look at is this: do you treat your employees like hourly? If so, you have to pay them hourly.

There's this and several other points that my company is failing on that is (as long as my supervisors aren't bullshitting me) being fought right now, but the bottom line is that my department is being treated in every way like hourly employees and told to suck it because we're salaried.

I think where your employer is going to run into problems is that he seems to want it both ways and it doesn't work like that.  Either you're salary and get paid weekly or you're hourly and get overtime

I think you're screwed. Maybe.

http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/fairpay/fs17e_computer.htm

Finally, a response that sounds right.
You are salary exempt, which means they own your ass.
I'm in the same situation.
If I'm needed, I can be called in Christmas day and I won't be paid for it.

You need to speak  with the dept of labor. A lawyer I spoke with  said they have seen where someone replied to an  email on vacation and was to be paid  the entire week salary.

I can't give you much to help you but it definitely doesn't smell right.  An anonymous call would help get things sorted out.  

commission...60 hours a week. They make it so you wished you were working 60 hours at mcdonalds hourly.

I think the issue really is him being docked pay.  I work over sometimes too but I am paid well enough i don't whine too much but if they docked my pay for being late there would be issues.  Sometimes i work less hours and often i work more but i have never been docked.

That is exactly the issue. I work over, I come in early, I have even come in on Saturdays and I never complain but then the first opportunity they can they try and short me. It's fucking bullshit.

They cannot have it both ways.  If you are salaried you cannot be docked for leaving early/arriving late (you can be fired, but that is another story).  The whole point is that they are refusing overtime and THAT is the point.

Had a boss when I worked retail who told us we were 'salaried'.  We were treated as hourly, but for accounting purposes we were paid the same every week.  8 hour days, required to be at the store for lunch (which he provided).  If you needed an extra day off in a week, you worked an extra day another week.  It was not completely legal, but it balanced.

Wait, wut?

If you're salaried, you get paid even if there is no work.  That's the deal.

You're either paid hourly or you're paid a salary, the OP's boss can't have it both ways.

RF

This is what you need to do.  States usually set up labor codes that very narrowly define what is salary-exempt and what is hourly because left to their own companies would declare janitors and assembly line workers as salaried.  

http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/hrg.htm

Generally you have to either be purely management, or you have some type of position where you are in charge of your own schedule like outside sales.  Neither of which sounds like your job.  State labor boards generally take a very dim view of employers declaring hourly employees "salary" in order to skirt paying overtime.

The best thing you can do is keep a very detailed record of the hours you worked vs. your pay, and when you decide you've had enough, file a complaint with the GA Dept. of Labor.

Your post isn't entirely accurate.  There are plenty of professional jobs that aren't managers that can be exempt positions.

You are in a different state but Electronic Arts tried that crap in Los Angeles and got sued by the CA State labor board as well as former employees for doing exactly what you are describing.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/ea-settles-ot-dispute-disgruntled-spouse-outed-6148369

Sorry to hear that. I make it a point to never burn bridges, just in case.

Talk to your state government.

States hate companies.  States especially hate companies that try to work around or even within the employment laws when paying employees.

I have MANY clients who have been audited by the state and sued constantly because the state thought they weren't paying their people right.  I would say most lose because of constantly changing interpretations.

So I am sure your state would be very interested in whatever you have to say.

THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT COVERS SALARIED EMPLOYEES. If a salaried employee works over 40 hours in a week, he must take comp time (at time and a half) within a specified period or be paid 1.5 times his effective hourly rate. "Sorry, you're on salary" is a huge scam. As soon as they fire you (or you quit) go see a labor lawyer. The employer has to pay the atty fee.


EDIT: CONTROLLED BY FEDERAL LAW. Find a new job and get to fucking.

Fuck labor laws, i work for free.  Basically sums up arfcom in a nutshell.

I don't understand the salary, but he sends you home and doesn't pay you anything for that day. Makes no sense salary-wise.

I'd get something else lined up and be ready to pull the eject handle.  Even if you are right, you won't get ahead with a jerk who is abusing the terms of employment that you were originally sold on when you took the job.

Fighting this out might get you some short term benefit but it'll waste time you should be spending looking for something better and blow a ton of goodwill that you might need.  No matter how much of a tool your boss is, there's nothing to gain by burning bridges on your way out.  That shit can come back to haunt you.

Local restaurant was sued by the department of labor for something similar.