What are the leagal limits to the work load / time expected to work for an exempt employee?

owotm · July 2001

A work load has doubled since the person begain the job with no additional help. The job is impossible to do in 40 as it was in the past. The employee says it's an impossible job and they have to cut corners. Other coworkers say they would not want the job. Can this person be expected to work many extra hours? What happens if disiplinary actions start to take place because the job is not getting done?

Don Avery · July 2001

There are no Federal legal limits to the number of work hours that can be required from an employee, especialy if the employee is Exempt. For non-Exempt, the prohibative cost of overtime acts as a self limiting factor for the employer. If the employer is so inclined, they may take the position that the work can be done in a "reasonable" time and that the employee is just not working efficiently.
The only recourse for the employee is to attempt to quantify the tasks and demonstrate that it is not physically possible to accomplish the work with the necessary quality in "reasonable" hours. The definition of "reasonable" may be a problem. Arbitrarily, I would set it at about 50 hours per week, with some weeks needing more than that and some less.

dhnyct · July 2001

We have had a couple of experiences through the years. One person holds a "position" for many years, and the responsibilities steadily increase as the business grows. That one person manages to "do it all". But when that one person leaves, management can't find anyone to fill the opening and has to reassess the position. In one case it required establishing two full time positions.

Being exempt does require extra time and effort, but there also needs to be a system to periodically reassess positions. What's the value of finding good people and then see how long it takes to burn them out?

Mike Maslanka · July 2001

one other thought in addition to the very good ones already posted...double check to make sure the person is really doing a non-exempt job...it sounds as if the employee has no one reporting to him or her ... which exemption does the employee fit in? why did the employee who did the job leave? you may end up with two very angry people("the company bled us dry,and we should sue for overtime!")...reagrds from texas, mike maslanka

owotm · July 2001

OK, thank you. This person is the person that has been here for years. They are in an exempt position. There are people under this position but the same as it was years ago. Any other comments welcome.

What are the leagal limits to the work load / time expected to work for an exempt employee?

Comments