Salaried but having to work 70 hour weeks? (employee, consulting, average)
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My husband is a chef at a local country club. They moved him to salary last summer which forced him to take a pay cut because he was getting so much overtime pay. He has been regularly working 12 hour days and on his days off the general manager schedules caterings and events last minute that he has to work, pushing him to working 70+ hour weeks and not getting days off. The restaurant is understaffed, and they refuse to hire anyone to lighten his load. The general manager is also on salary but regularly works 30 hour weeks which forces my husband to pick up the manager's work load.
He can't go to the owners because the manager is best buds and they have let a lot of inappropriate behavior slide already. We live in a small town with very few job opportunities. There is nothing around that would pay him close to what he is making now.
Is there anyway for him to be protected from working such crazy hours?
We live in a small town with very few job opportunities. There is nothing around that would pay him close to what he is making now.
You're wrong here, he can get a job that pays the same amount, the ONLY reason he "appears" to make more right now is because his salary "includes" the OT of 30 hours/week. It's a calculated expense on their part.
Tech companies in the bay area do this, it's cheaper to pay a higher salary and "include" OT than it is to pay the payroll/benefits of 2 people at half the cost of the 1 "expensive" person. It doesn't cost them any more to pay the "OT" for 1 person to do 2 persons jobs, since the billable hours would be the same. It's when they get to cut out the taxes/benefits on the 2nd person that makes overtime look cheap
if nothing else, I know restaurant owners in Tulsa that have stores on the Indian reservations, they are making a lot due to lack of willingness/competition to open more stores in the area (clearing around $30-40k/month was last I heard, they get average $100/hr when open in business plus whatever events/parties). He could go this route himself. Yes, managing/owning a business is hard, but he is already working the same hours so he might as well do that. Not uncommon for small business owners to work 60-80 hrs/week, but at least at the end of the day they are accountable for themselves.
My husband is a chef at a local country club. They moved him to salary last summer which forced him to take a pay cut because he was getting so much overtime pay. He has been regularly working 12 hour days and on his days off the general manager schedules caterings and events last minute that he has to work, pushing him to working 70+ hour weeks and not getting days off. The restaurant is understaffed, and they refuse to hire anyone to lighten his load. The general manager is also on salary but regularly works 30 hour weeks which forces my husband to pick up the manager's work load.
He can't go to the owners because the manager is best buds and they have let a lot of inappropriate behavior slide already. We live in a small town with very few job opportunities. There is nothing around that would pay him close to what he is making now.
Is there anyway for him to be protected from working such crazy hours?
Side note: We live in Oklahoma.
This is a growing problem in this country. Don't think that the owner doesn't know. The owner is not your husbands friend. He is his employer.
Consulting a labor attorney should be done in your state and certainly not in your town. The attorney should be strictly behind the scenes and have no ties to the country club. Your husband should be documenting his hours, and should have been since last Summer.
Mod cut.
Last edited by PJSaturn; 03-27-2019 at 10:36 AM..
Reason: Political commentary.
My husband is a chef at a local country club. They moved him to salary last summer which forced him to take a pay cut because he was getting so much overtime pay. He has been regularly working 12 hour days and on his days off the general manager schedules caterings and events last minute that he has to work, pushing him to working 70+ hour weeks and not getting days off. The restaurant is understaffed, and they refuse to hire anyone to lighten his load. The general manager is also on salary but regularly works 30 hour weeks which forces my husband to pick up the manager's work load.
He can't go to the owners because the manager is best buds and they have let a lot of inappropriate behavior slide already. We live in a small town with very few job opportunities. There is nothing around that would pay him close to what he is making now.
Is there anyway for him to be protected from working such crazy hours?
Side note: We live in Oklahoma.
Uh, that is the job. Frankly 70 hours a week is not that bad, it is very common for many professionals and very common in the food service business and certainly not crazy. I have owned several restaurant concepts in the past. He earns a salary much higher than the national average and he lives in a small town with few options. Talk about painting yourself into a corner. The out is to move. In the Trump economy he should easily find work in the food service industry.
Here are some numbers to give you comfort, as well as a reality check:
Real Median Household Income in Oklahoma 2017:
US $60,336
Oklahoma $50,051
Real Per Capita Income in Oklahoma 2017
US $32,397
Oklahoma $26,472
So your husband is earning roughly 20K more than the average household (which implies two people working)in Oklahoma and far more than twice the typical income and a bit less than three times. I am not sure what the complaint is. Congratulations, it sounds like you married an actual man who is not afraid of hard work in order to provide for his family, you should be proud.
You seem to be implying that he should magically earn two to three times the average for your state without any appreciable effort on his end. If he is talented he should be able to open his own concept. Better yet, why doesn't he approach the owners with his own proposal to take over the entire food service as a contractor. Since you indicated he also does the manager's job as well as his own, he must have the requisite skill set. Then he can hire whom he wants and determine his own profit or loss relative to the hours he sets.
The food service industry is brutal. From the chefs and managers I have spoken with, 60-70+ hours per week is the norm. There is no such thing as a prohibition on the number of hours an exempt employee can be required to work. Your husband can try and negotiate his hours. If he is not satisfied with what is offered, his legal remedy is to walk out the door.
Our economic is screwed up. People cost too. We cant afford their pay rate. giving food is a simple limited value added service. Do something higher value if you eat higher pay. Run a refinery or coal plant the majority of the rest is overhead.
First - Most of the time I read these threads and they are like "can an employer insist I have to come to work on time, can I sue them?"...just frivolous crap.
Second - Ignore most of the responses above, actually ignore all of them. No one addressed the legal aspect and they just seem to have some strange agenda that doesn't help you in the least.
IMPORTANT - You have a legitimate issue here - you want to look into this. You just can't be put on salary (i.e. exempt) if an employer says you are working to many hours, you have to have certain high level responsibilities to qualify as a salary employee. That is per federal law. Fair Labor and Standards Act have stringent classifications over exempt vs. non-exempt employees.
First - Most of the time I read these threads and they are like "can an employer insist I have to come to work on time, can I sue them?"...just frivolous crap.
Second - Ignore most of the responses above, actually ignore all of them. No one addressed the legal aspect and they just seem to have some strange agenda that doesn't help you in the least.
IMPORTANT - You have a legitimate issue here - you want to look into this. You just can't be put on salary (i.e. exempt) if an employer says you are working to many hours, you have to have certain high level responsibilities to qualify as a salary employee. That is per federal law. Fair Labor and Standards Act have stringent classifications over exempt vs. non-exempt employees.
Agreed. The way they did this and given the industry does not seem on the up and up.
Seek free legal advice on AVVO asking the initial question describing it just how you did here.
The one thing I will say however is unfortunately being a Chef is a terrible job. I would not do it unless I was working for myself. I highly doubt being a Chef anywhere in Oklahoma is going to be a great situation.
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