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Old 11-21-2014, 10:35 PM
 
Location: San Diego, California Republic
16,573 posts, read 27,285,010 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by iNviNciBL3 View Post
How do people work 60 - 80 hours in a week?

i get 10 hour shifts every now and than which isn't too bad considering you get either a 1 hour break or 2 half hour break but i can't imagine doing that multiple times a week...

Pretty sure only Wall Street people work that much, your average joe is probably just some lazy office worker.... working 9-5 monday through friday.
I once worked so much that I had a paycheck with 130 hours on it in a two week period so it is possible. At least up to 65 hours or so.
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Old 11-21-2014, 10:41 PM
 
Location: San Diego, California Republic
16,573 posts, read 27,285,010 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by saibot View Post
Where are you getting your information? Are you just pulling these statements out of the air? In almost all cases, American employers are required to pay overtime.

This statement is from the U.S. Department of Labor: An employer who requires or permits an employee to work overtime is generally required to pay the employee premium pay for such overtime work. Employees covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) must receive overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek of at least one and one-half times their regular rates of pay.




Thanks, exactly. I'm pretty sure that if the "average" American was working 10 or 11 hours a day, seven days a week, I would know at least one of those people.
Bare in mind the overtime law can vary depending on state. As I mentioned earlier, California also requires overtime pay if you work more than 8 hours in a day regardless how many hours you had for the week. For example, you may have 37 hours in one week but if one of those days was 9 or 10 hours, you get overtime for those one or two hours for that days pay. It isn't stackable though. So if you work 5 10 hour days, you will get 10 hours of overtime. The thing about that is, if you lose one of those days and end up with just 40 hours, you will still get 8 hours of overtime due to the two extra hours each other day. If you work more than 12 hours in a day, you get paid double time.
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Old 11-21-2014, 11:34 PM
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Location: Western Massachusetts
46,009 posts, read 53,242,709 times
Reputation: 15179
Quote:
Originally Posted by KathrynAragon View Post
READ THE WAGE AND HOUR LAW if you really, truly want to understand this. Overtime pay is required for nearly ALL workers who are paid by the hour (like, about 98 percent of workers who are paid by the hour).

http://www.dol.gov/whd/flsa/
Yes, but that's only for workers paid by the hour. Workers in tech jobs, and many other white-collar jobs, aren't.
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Old 11-22-2014, 02:23 AM
 
2,331 posts, read 2,904,372 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nei View Post
Yes, but that's only for workers paid by the hour. Workers in tech jobs, and many other white-collar jobs, aren't.
That really summarizes it well, people paid by the hour like in retail or production work get overtime compensation. In practice, there have been many lawsuits because employers refused to pay overtime: example.
Quote:
Williams, of Lubbock, works for Moody International as a pipeline inspector. His pay records show he often works 100 or more hours each week including one week when he worked 160 hours.
People with better white collar jobs like tech, finance or sales structurally work overtime either because they are expected to by the employer or because 'out of free will' to improve their careers. Those are not paid overtime hours but it is covered by the base salary: example.
Quote:
The current mandatory hours are 9am to 10pm -- seven days a week -- with the occasional Saturday evening off for good behavior (at 6:30pm). ...

And the kicker: for the honor of this treatment EA salaried employees receive a) no overtime; b) no compensation time! ('comp' time is the equalization of time off for overtime -- any hours spent during a crunch accrue into days off after the product has shipped); c) no additional sick or vacation leave. The time just goes away.
Although officially it does not seem that bad to be an employee in the US, if you dig a little deeper it still looks pretty bad for blue collar or white collar. And all the claims of your 'higher average salaries' are nonsense obviously. You have to work far more hours for your salaries so you actually earn one third to half less of what we make here in Western Europe on top of your higher costs of living.
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Old 11-22-2014, 08:03 AM
 
Location: Wonderland
67,652 posts, read 60,388,195 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gentoo View Post
Bare in mind the overtime law can vary depending on state. As I mentioned earlier, California also requires overtime pay if you work more than 8 hours in a day regardless how many hours you had for the week. For example, you may have 37 hours in one week but if one of those days was 9 or 10 hours, you get overtime for those one or two hours for that days pay. It isn't stackable though. So if you work 5 10 hour days, you will get 10 hours of overtime. The thing about that is, if you lose one of those days and end up with just 40 hours, you will still get 8 hours of overtime due to the two extra hours each other day. If you work more than 12 hours in a day, you get paid double time.
Good details - thanks for expounding.

You're right - the FEDERAL Wage and Hour and other labor laws are the bare minimum - some states and even some cities and also many private companies expand on the federal law.
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Old 11-22-2014, 08:38 AM
 
Location: Wonderland
67,652 posts, read 60,388,195 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nei View Post
Yes, but that's only for workers paid by the hour. Workers in tech jobs, and many other white-collar jobs, aren't.
Of course, but that doesn't mean that most salaried workers are expected to work significant overtime. This varies GREATLY among job descriptions, fields of industry, etc. Drro mentions tech jobs and states that many tech workers are expected to work overtime. OK, but I mentioned bank jobs and the fact that overtime is often discouraged greatly or completely unnecessary in those jobs.

I've worked hourly, salaried, straight commission, and combinations of several, and am currently self employed. As an adult, I've worked in banking, HR/staffing, real estate, interior design, and I was even an art therapist at a mental institution for awhile. In management positions, I worked an average of about 45 hours a week. In in inside sales positions, I worked an average of 40 hours a week, maybe a bit less. In real estate, I might work 20 hours one week and 60 hours another week, but on average I worked about 30 hours a week.

Currently, I work about ten hours a week - LOL. This is my favorite work schedule of all!

What I am saying is a misrepresentation and a misunderstanding of American workers in general is that concept of the work obsessed frazzled employee, who is motivated more by fear of losing his/her job than by his/her own personal goals. I'm sure that some people live like that, but it's not the average American mindset.

Americans ARE hard workers - and productive workers. And that's OK!
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Old 11-22-2014, 08:40 AM
 
Location: Wonderland
67,652 posts, read 60,388,195 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by drro View Post
That really summarizes it well, people paid by the hour like in retail or production work get overtime compensation. In practice, there have been many lawsuits because employers refused to pay overtime: example.
People with better white collar jobs like tech, finance or sales structurally work overtime either because they are expected to by the employer or because 'out of free will' to improve their careers. Those are not paid overtime hours but it is covered by the base salary: example.
Although officially it does not seem that bad to be an employee in the US, if you dig a little deeper it still looks pretty bad for blue collar or white collar. And all the claims of your 'higher average salaries' are nonsense obviously. You have to work far more hours for your salaries so you actually earn one third to half less of what we make here in Western Europe on top of your higher costs of living.
The examples you gave are exceptions to the rule, which is why they "made the news." If they were the norm, they wouldn't be newsworthy.

And one of your examples was from a blog - interesting to read, but not what I'd call a reputable source.

But as I said earlier, if for some weird reason, it makes you feel better to think that American workers are miserable, overworked sods held under their employers' thumbs by threats of losing their jobs, then carry on.
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Old 11-22-2014, 09:09 AM
 
Location: Perth, Western Australia
3,190 posts, read 4,570,263 times
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I think Americans are generally similar to Australians, though often more positive and outgoing. On the downside they can be perceived as ignorant and materialistic though all these stereotypes can really fit each nationality depending on who you ask.
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Old 11-22-2014, 09:46 AM
 
Location: San Diego, California Republic
16,573 posts, read 27,285,010 times
Reputation: 9007
Quote:
Originally Posted by KathrynAragon View Post
Good details - thanks for expounding.

You're right - the FEDERAL Wage and Hour and other labor laws are the bare minimum - some states and even some cities and also many private companies expand on the federal law.
You're welcome but remember, it's not really a bare minimum. States don't have to follow the federal law it's just in this case, they happen to. There are still two states who's minimum wage is below the federal minimum wage. Georgia which I think is 5.15 and hour and I want to say the other state is Wyoming but I am not sure.
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Old 11-22-2014, 10:36 AM
 
Location: Wonderland
67,652 posts, read 60,388,195 times
Reputation: 101031
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gentoo View Post
You're welcome but remember, it's not really a bare minimum. States don't have to follow the federal law it's just in this case, they happen to. There are still two states who's minimum wage is below the federal minimum wage. Georgia which I think is 5.15 and hour and I want to say the other state is Wyoming but I am not sure.
There are only three states in which some workers' MAY have minimum wage rates below that of federal law. Those states are Georgia, Arkansas, and Wyoming. However, the laws are a bit confusing because if a state has no minimum wage law, OR a minimum wage law on the books that is lower than the federal law mandates, the federal minimum wage rate applies to ALL workers who fall under that federal law - regardless of the states' law.

State Minimum Wages | 2014 Minimum Wage by State
Quote:
3 states, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico have minimum wages below the federal minimum wage (the federal minimum thus applies).
http://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/america.htm
Quote:
Where an employee is subject to both the state and federal minimum wage laws, the employee is entitled to the higher minimum wage rate.
Minimum Wage ? What it is, Who Earns it, Federal & State Laws
Quote:
When a state’s minimum wage does not match the federal one, minimum wage earners receive the higher of the two amounts.
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