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Employees who are paid less than $23,600 per year ($455 per week) are nonexempt. (Employees who earn more than $100,000 per year are almost certainly exempt.)->I am a senior cost accountant earning 97K a year without any bonus
regularly supervises two or more other employees, and also-> no
has management as the primary duty of the position, and also,-> no. I am not a manager
has some genuine input into the job status of other employees (such as hiring, firing, promotions, or assignments).-> hell no !
all I am doing is crunching numbers all day long, providing some scorecards and reports that nobody is looking at.
my work is quality and they tell me I am experienced and I know what I am doing blahblahblah ....can they still fire me because I refuse to do overtime even though there is nothing wrong with the quality of work ?
Again, as long as your classified as exempt, you are not working o.t. The real question is can they fire you because you refuse to work the expected hours?
Did you sign a contract? Is the expectation laid out somewhere that you agreed to?
how much I make a year or an hour is not the point. question is whether I can do something to get them off my case or can they actually fire me for not working overtime.
i see your point that "if somebody makes 100K they need to work overtime because they make so much money ...i mean why would they even come here and ask those questions ...they already make a lot of money ..let them work overtime .." this logic is flawed ...just because somebody cracked the system and knows how to get to 100K point ..does not mean he needs to sign off his freedom.
Your visa status is tied to the employer so you need to find another position with reasonable hours where the visa would be applicable. Keep in mind that your current visa doesn't have an indefinite length so you will need to deal with that at some time in any case.
A 70 hour week periodically or episodically (eg: quarterly reports, Joe is in hospital etc)... is not an issue.
A 70 hour week regularly means you are being abused.
If the position is described (in the fine print) of the contract as actually being a $30/hr base
with a very generous $35,000 bonus plan... 70 hrs average per week is still onerous.
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how much I make a year or an hour is not the point...
Yeah it is. The number of hours frames the CONTEXT for whether or to what extent you have
a right to object/legally act about the number of hours required to earn the dosh.
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...question is whether I can do something to get them off my case
or can they actually fire me for not working overtime.
That answer lies somewhere in the triangle of 1) the STATE law there, 2) your contract language...
and 3) what a judge might be persuaded to rule.
Good luck.
Last edited by MrRational; 07-06-2013 at 10:04 AM..
Employees who are paid less than $23,600 per year ($455 per week) are nonexempt. (Employees who earn more than $100,000 per year are almost certainly exempt.)->I am a senior cost accountant earning 97K a year without any bonus
regularly supervises two or more other employees, and also-> no
has management as the primary duty of the position, and also,-> no. I am not a manager
has some genuine input into the job status of other employees (such as hiring, firing, promotions, or assignments).-> hell no !
all I am doing is crunching numbers all day long, providing some scorecards and reports that nobody is looking at.
my work is quality and they tell me I am experienced and I know what I am doing blahblahblah ....can they still fire me because I refuse to do overtime even though there is nothing wrong with the quality of work ?
If that description is correct, you are most likely NOT exempt, you can't be forced to work OT(more than 40hrs/wk) without OT compensation, OT may still be mandatory depending on your work contract, which given that position, you probably have.
If you don't have a contract, they can fire you due to the way you cut your hair.
If you have a contract, there are listed reasons for termination, and possibly any buy-out if they decide you are no longer needed.
I maintain perfect attendance and do a good job.. that makes it harder for them to fire someone for simply not working overtime and being able to deny them unemployment. I also put myself in a job that minimizes overtime to help them out, since it's a 4-crew rotation, meaning all 168 hours of the week are covered and only absences need to be covered for.
You are salary though I don't know what I'd do in your case since you probably don't have set hours. Get a different job? The more people sit there and take it the more the employers will do it.. of course in this 'healthiest ben bernake economy ever' they can easily replace anyone.
But not all of us are fine working 60 hour weeks. Also, the fact that employers are able to pressure employees to work such long hours is one of the main reasons why unemployment is so high.
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as there will be times I can work 20-30 and still get paid the same. I am in a position that is a legit salary position and I only refer to jobs that have a legit reason to be salary.
In my job, and most other "exempt" jobs, if you work only 20-30 hours, you have to use vacation time to get you up to 40 hours.
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If folks who are salary do not like this, then they should stay as individual contributors or stay out of positions that are typically salary and let those who enjoy the flexibility live happily ever after.
But there needs to be some middle ground for people whose skills are in white collar fields, but don't want to work ridiculous hours on a regular basis.
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I have so much more freedom as exempt than when I was non-exempt. I would not want to go back.
Most exempt employees have no freedom. Most of us are still expected to report to work ontime and not leave work early, and not take a longer lunch break than what is given to us.
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Also OP, you may want to read the whole page, especially this part.
Exempt professional job duties.
Sounds like you may just want to let someone else have a job that you certainly do not appreciate. I know there are many people who would love to earn $97k and work some extra hours because of it.
But not all of us are fine working 60 hour weeks. Also, the fact that employers are able to pressure employees to work such long hours is one of the main reasons why unemployment is so high.
In my job, and most other "exempt" jobs, if you work only 20-30 hours, you have to use vacation time to get you up to 40 hours.
But there needs to be some middle ground for people whose skills are in white collar fields, but don't want to work ridiculous hours on a regular basis.
Most exempt employees have no freedom. Most of us are still expected to report to work ontime and not leave work early, and not take a longer lunch break than what is given to us.
I don't make $97k.
I am not going to refute all your points, but looks like you need to work for a better company. While I can not leave early daily, as my employees will become frustrated, if I need to take a few hours here and there as needed then it is no problem. I come in around the time I say I will and leave in the same manner, unless there is a need to stay late.
If that description is correct, you are most likely NOT exempt, you can't be forced to work OT(more than 40hrs/wk) without OT compensation, OT may still be mandatory depending on your work contract, which given that position, you probably have.
If you don't have a contract, they can fire you due to the way you cut your hair.
If you have a contract, there are listed reasons for termination, and possibly any buy-out if they decide you are no longer needed.
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