Worker Abuse??

Doria

Here is a condensed version of a question one of our employees asked. Any advice would be appreciated.


Is it legal to have a salaried person work for 9 days straight without a day off, each day being approx. 8 hours or more. If so do they have to pay some kind of overtime? Give a day off or something? This happens every month and the person in question is VERY pregnant.

Don D

There's not a federal regulation prohibiting long hours for employees who meet a salaried exemption to wage and hour laws. If I'm not mistaken, the federal language states "...guaranteed salary for hours worked, whether many or few." If it's the job, it's the job. Perhaps your State has some additional regs that kick in. Check with them. Pregnancy doesn't enter into it unless you have some supervisor who has clearly indicated that the pregnancy is the reason he decided to pile on the hours. Hopefully he didn't begin to pile on the hours when she announced her pregnancy. Since you say it 'happens every month' I assume it is by now company routine and therefore has become part of the job. Most companies would view comp time off as reasonable for people who work 72 straight hours. Unless your State has regs that address this, its not illegal, but perhaps a bit unwise. It will probably have a direct correlation with turnover in the job!

Gillian

There is something wrong with this scenario, but depending on where you are it may be legally OK. In my state it would be a problem if the person has any health issues. It's probably worker abuse.

System

Mr. Worrywort here, with a few things to worry about:

-- I have a sneaking suspicion that this supervisor doesn't treat all of his/her employees this way, which could look like pregnancy discrimination.

-- If she asks for a day off, that could be a request for intermittent FMLA leave.

-- Does the employee want time off, and does she worry that her long hours could hurt the baby? If not, no problem. But if she's worried ... if something happens to the baby, then the employee or her child could sue your company, saying the supervisor caused the problem by ordering her to work too hard against her will. Would they win the lawsuit? Probably not, though a similar lawsuit in Hawaii would say otherwise. But newspaper and TV reporters would have a field day reporting the employee's side of the story.

James Sokolowski
Senior Editor
M. Lee Smith Publishers

Paul in Cannon Beach

Hmmm.. when an employee asks you if something is legal they obviously feel something wrong is being done to them. The next step might be to contact BOLI and file some form of complaint. That's no fun!

Regardless of the legal issues, I would be wondering if what has been happening to her is RIGHT. I would talk with her more and get more facts. Then I would talk to the supervisor and get his/her side. You might need to go back to each person a couple times to get the whole picture. I have learned not to jump to conclusions until you get the WHOLE story.

Hopefully you might be able to provide an answer/solution that will satisfy the employee and their supervisor. Remember, the employee has probably discussed her grievance with her co-workers so everyone is waiting to see what your response will be.

First thing you need to decide is whether this employee is exempt from overtime or not. That information will help you determine a course of action.

YOu might also ask the employee:
1) Have you discussed your schedule with your supervisor? What was said?
2) Do you know why you are being scheduled this way?
3) What schedule might allow business needs to be met and yet allow the employee to take time off?
4)Would the employee prefer overtime pay (if due) or time off?

Ask the supervisor:
1) Why is the employee working this schedule? For how long? Are others scheduled in a similiar manner?
2) Are you aware of the employee's feelings about the schedule? What has been done?
3) What immediate solutions are available?

Good luck!

[email]paulknoch@hotmail.com[/email]

dmartenson

I think one of the most imporant issues here is whether this person is not only salaried, but also exempt. A non-exempt employee can be salaried, and therefore would incur overtime issues. A salaried exempt would not.

Christine M

This is a time for scrutinizing your job classification. If there is any question as to the FLSA status on the position, you should consult an expert to determine whether the position is correctly classified as exempt or non-exempt. As we all know, the FLSA criteria is not always clear-cut and classifications are often decided on a judgement call. Depending on the experience and knowledge of the individual making that call, it may or may not be the correct classification, and if not, this could be a real headache for you.