headache over salaried job rule change and demands (how much, lawyer)
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there are a lot of things that cause me head and heartache in my new job of 6mos. pls assist me with a question from this wknd. i am 40hrs, salaried. in 6 mos, i'v consistently workd 65+ hours. over past month, i cut back to about 55 bc i suffer w migrains and insomnia, oh, and i'm a single mom. so thursday, our QA director came in and rudely demanded i make some changes to my program that i run. she wanted it immediately, bc there is a big inspection monday that i'v workd tirelessly to prep for. so she attaches VP on email about making some changes-nothing vital, just preferential things that were never provided to me nor was i trained at all on these documents/protocol. still, i blocked my sched thurs n fri and busted my butt to get it done. she instructed me by phone and VP emailed me to work "at least saturday," in thurs email. when i got tht email, i immed explained i could not come in wknd, that i would block my friday and remainder of thurs to get what i could done, but i had no sitter on wknd, esp on such short notice. so i worked til 8p friday, finished what was instructed, took laptop home an said i'd assist from home if needed. i fielded many calls, from QA saturday on unrelated issues that dont need wknd hour attn, then she called nd scolded me for not coming in saturday. i explained again that i made it clear thursday i wouldnt be in, and not that i need to explain, but i had no sitter. she abruptly said that was no excuse. q: can i be forced to work additional, unplanned hours after i've already put in far more than required for my salary/contract, with one day notice?
It should lay out what is expected of you in regards to hours, days, how much notice must be given or requirements for working weekends in your contract. Did you have a lawyer look over the contract and explain it to you before you signed it? No one can answer the questions you are asking without seeing the provisions in your contract.
my contract simply says 40hr per week, salaried position. i ask these questions in my post because there were no provisions in my contract and i found it offputting that i would be demanded to work a wknd day, or more, that is far and above my already worked 60hrs this wk, with little notice. my question is, can these rules just be tacked on and i be held accountable when this has not been the arrangemnt. in fact, when i started, i was told to stop working so much, bc i was being "too accessible" to my staff. but thats another story..
I say just stick to your new-found guns and let her whine if she wants to continue to whine. They aren't going to find someone else who is taking what you are already taking and they know it, but it's the old "give them an inch and they'll take a mile" schtick. She is trying to push you around because it has worked before. If she brings it up again, just repeat, in a strong voice, (by that I don't mean yelling but don't act whimpery and small, either) that you did inform her on Thursday that the weekend would not be possible, and that you did put in X number of extra hours, and that when projects like this come up, it is obvious that you will need more resources. She will back down, just watch. A person who normally does not stand up for herself makes them nervous when she finally does.
The fact that you said she "scolded" you says that this is not a normal boss/employee dynamic here. You can't change her, only the way you react to her.
I highly doubt you are in any danger of losing your job.
Send deviation from contract and charge appropriately.
Explain in person to the head honcho your concerns, especially the 'feel good' changes and training issues. QA would be interested in knowing that inspectors would be aghast at knowing the report they reviewed was prepared by someone who did not have the approipriate training.
Then send the summary of that discussion in writing to the boss.
If you sit quietkly and take notes when a business bully is shouting, it unnerves them greatly. Then send that person an email with your understanding of what was wanted and your concerns or limitations. CC appropriately.
Approach with a pure business like demeanor, ignore their inappropraite behavior and respond professionally. Do not respond to their emotional rants. In fact you might walk out of the room and if pressed explain you will not tolerate verbal and emotional abuse.
thanks for all this great advice. its very thorough and quite comforting. i'm grateful. also, fyi, i'm not someone to normally stand by and accept abusive talk nor am i passive at all. i was very much put off by this QA person's demands and rudeness, but in 6 mos, i'v addressed her at least 4 times in private and then administrative mtgs that i coordinated, specifically to address her unprofessionalism. not surprisingly, i just filed a formal complaint on wed of this week bc this QA woman disclosed private medical information of mine in front of several of my staff, including an intern, not trained nor bound by the agency policies on confidentiality. it was the nxt day that this QA woman roared into my program and placed all these demands on me.
i wont bring this to attention of inspectors bc i dont want to dampen all the hard wok i'v done to prep for this big inspection, nor do i want to come off as unreasonable or catty. yet, i will bring it to the VP, my direct supervisor. however, in truth, i dont anticipate the response to be supportive. peop in the agency all seem to know this QA lady is a blowhard, bully, emotional tornado, yet admin seems to pity her an accept her nonsense as residual from a tough job. that doesnt sit well with me. thanks again!
It seems companies put their "professional" workers into this exempt status the last 20 years or so where they want you to work 60 hours yet you only get paid 40. The rules are they are supposed to give you comp time, time off, when you work more than 40, but maybe 90% of the time its forgotten just to get things done. You do have the labor rules behind you which state you should get comp time off when you work extra hours. A lot of it depends on how much you like the other aspects of the position.
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