definition of salaried?

[happyscooter]

DH recently retired from a job where he was salaried. So he had to work overtime one week every 2 months. Now he is at a new company and is salaried, but OMG. They expect him to be on call every weekend (this is not a job of life or death, no brain surgery)keep his cell phone on 14 hours a day and maybe work holidays that are supposed to be paid time off. This is freaking unbelievable. So the place is closed on Monday the 4th and he has to work Sat maybe Sun. We have something to attend on Saturday and have already RSVPd. So now instead of working 1 weekend out of 8, he has to work basically every weekend. Is this your idea of salaried?

[happyscooter]

He can't keep job hopping. He can't draw a pension for 6 more years.

[phil5185]

Just say 'no'?

[happyscooter]

just say 'hello UE' and they would probably claim insubordination

[midjd]

Yeah, "salaried" is sometimes code for "on-call 24/7", it seems... there are quite a few jobs where if you broke down the salary vs. hours worked, you'd be making less than half minimum wage.

Occasionally you can argue that the type of occupation is normally paid by the hour (for example, a "salaried" restaurant server or retail clerk) and the company is attempting to skirt the FLSA, but in most managerial/professional jobs, salary is the norm. Much harder to argue in that case.

[dancinmama]

Jun 30, 2011 20:15:30 GMT -5 happyscooter said:

DH recently retired from a job where he was salaried. So he had to work overtime one week every 2 months. Now he is at a new company and is salaried, but OMG. They expect him to be on call every weekend (this is not a job of life or death, no brain surgery)keep his cell phone on 14 hours a day and maybe work holidays that are supposed to be paid time off. This is freaking unbelievable. So the place is closed on Monday the 4th and he has to work Sat maybe Sun. We have something to attend on Saturday and have already RSVPd. So now instead of working 1 weekend out of 8, he has to work basically every weekend. Is this your idea of salaried?

What is your DH's job/position/labor grade. My DH is a senior manager of THREE departments and reports directly to the VP (so is really doing a director's job) in a Fortune 500 company and he is expected to be "available" via his electronic leash, otherwise known as a blackberry, 24/7. He presence seems to be requested for various meetings throughout the day, so the only time he really has to read/respond to emails is at night and on weekends. There are also times when the VP will request to see a power point presentation on this, that, or the other thing which ends up being "homework" as well. He does not get compensated for any of the extra time or the fact that he's actually doing a director's job; not that of a senior manager.

My DH has been seriously overworked for over a year now and quite frankly, I think it is a sign of the times. Companies are laying off and everyone left behind is expected to pick up the slack and BE HAPPY that they have a job.

[Deleted]

I'm salary and have to take the oncall pager once every 6 weeks. No extra compensation for that. Junior members of our team are hourly and of course get paid for extra work while being oncall.

[JustLurkin]

Jun 30, 2011 20:18:32 GMT -5 @tbird said:

"salaried" has in many ways turned into a way for companies to really abuse labor laws that only apply to hourly - so lets make everyone salaried!

He should try to move on as quickly as possible. Some companies are soulless....sounds like hes at one.

At least that's the way my attorney explained it to my supervisor. ;D He needs to keep looking, and that's what I'm doing.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

At my last job, I was salaried ... and worked 60-70 hours per week and was on-call constantly. This is one of many reasons why I chose to resign.

[busymom]

My DH had a salaried job. It was awful. He never saw our oldest child awake for about 9 months straight. That's what motivated him to find something else. He still works some crazy hours, but that previous employer had him working 7 days a week, and it wasn't unusual for him to be "called back in" just after getting home from work. Don't miss that place!

[DVM gone riding]

I am salaried but my work hours are spelled out in my contract and I get to say "no" to the staff (boss doesn't ask) to go intentionally over them. Most salary places use flex time so yeah you work 60 one week and then 20 the next. if this place is that abusive then he needs to draw the line, but really it should have been done in the hiring negotiations.

[Deleted]

I'm salaried, but I guess I have one of those "cushy" salaried jobs. I've been there for almost 3 years and can count on one hand the times I've had to stay longer than my normal 7.5 hours. I think most of that is my boss being nice and not wanting us to have no life since we're all basically entry level workers. Once you get to the supervisory level and above, working over 40 hours a week is par for the course.

[BeenThere...DoneThat...]

...it is my experience that "salaried" vs. "hourly" are terms used to describe a function within the processing of payroll... "exempt" vs. "non-exempt" are terms that describe whether one is "paid to do the job, whatever it takes" vs. "paid while doing a job, however it happens"...

...not sure if that helps the thread any?

[happyscooter]

mmc, yes he had pager duty at his old job one week every 8 weeks. No overtime pay but he wasn't on call the other 7 weeks. At this new job, he was hired by another manager who didn't make him work any weekends because he got his work done in 5 days. He might get a phone call from his old boss on Saturday to ask about a file or an email. But he didn't tell him to leave his phone on until 8-9 at night. Especially when DH turns it on at 6 in the morning. When he retired he had a part time job for 6 months and the company was bought out. So he went to this place and has been there for almost 6 months. 3 managers in that time. By divine intervention, the boss from the part time job stopped by our house from out of state the other day. Part time job is available once again. Same hours, same days, same pay. I was upset when he left it last year, but he had no other choice. Money isn't everything and we could make it fine if he went back. Not a lot of extras but I am OK with that. I am thisclose to saying 'the business card for the manager of the part time job is on the counter. CALL HIM NOW.'

[Deleted]

He should take it. You're right - money isn't everything.

[happyscooter]

I guess I just don't want him to be unsettled. He had been at his other company for over 30 years and now after retirement it looks like he is job hopping and not stable. He doesn't want to be referred to as the guy who can't hold a job. I think if the part time gig doesn't work out IF he takes it, I will say pack it in. We have no mortgage, minimum bills and again, money isn't everything. Even in this economy when people are working 2-3 jobs at the same time and people are leaving jobs through no cause of their own, he doesn't want to say 'I am at ABD Company' and in a few months say 'oh, I'm at MNO Company' and then at the end of the year 'no, I left there and I'm at XYZ Company.' We have all heard that before and in the back of your mind you think, 'wow, can that person not get along with people' or 'wow, they must have issues.'

[Deleted]

But you said he had retired... does he need to work again, or is he just working to keep busy? If it's the latter, then does the hopping around really matter? Also I wouldn't really consider that job-hopping as he got laid off, he didn't quit.

[happyscooter]

He needs to work as he is that type of person. Also, if he doesn't work at a paying job, his dad will keep him jumping every day. So either way, he will stay busy. So if he isn't going to be home, he might as well be making money. I am really leaning toward the part time gig as I was more upset than he was when it ran out. Again, he hasn't spoken to the part time boss in around 5 months when the boss called to say 'are things going ok? do you think this (full time and I mean FULL TIME) will work out?' And when he stopped by the other day and waited around for DH, and then left his card, I don't know. Things happen for a reason.

[happyscooter]

wow, rereading my posts, i don't make any sense this morning.

[happyscooter]

snerd, yes this is not brain surgery. The few times he had to work on Saturday and he sent the info to the manager, they sat on it until the middle of the week.

[Deleted]

I went from being an hourly employee and now a salaried exempt employee.

For my company it means being on call 24/7, anyone can reach me if they need me, willing to travel and working 45-60 hours week if needed (45 being bare minimum),

A few weeks back we did the math and considering all the hours I work now vs when I was hourly (still getting OT), I actually took a 10K paycut. But it is what you do to climb up the ladder I guess

[happyscooter]

well, he does have a backbone or he wouldn't have been at company number 1 over 30 years. and as far as his dad, i don't like him calling every hour and dh staying in the road. but that's his dad and i would never say anything to him.

dh DOES care what people say. so do i. and we brought our children up to care about what other people say. your reputation and name will live on after you.

[cael]

I'm salary and there's some expectation of answering my phone if the fire department happens to call me at 2am or on a weekend, since if they need one of us, I'm the closest. It doesn't happen very often though so I don't mind, and since we're (gasp) union, if we're called out after hours we are eligible for overtime, even though we usually just take comp time instead.

I guess there's a difference there... we're salary but union, so we get overtime in certain situations.

[happyscooter]

cawiau, yeah we are at the age that we no longer are climbing up the corporate ladder, nor are we climbing down the ladder. we are wanting to come down the sliding board. ;D

[happyscooter]

thanks snerd. that's what you get for being a conscientious worker. or conscientious person all the way around.

[happyscooter]

no, job hopping in itself doesn't make you a bad person. i didn't mean that in any way. i guess the few people that we have met who aren't in a stable job environment aren't really that way in a lot of areas. change jobs, trade cars every year, aren't satisfied in anything. so you are hesitant to ask them to be a PTA worker, scout leader, church class teacher, sports coach, babysitter, volunteer worker, etc.. because you wonder if they say 'yes' will they call you in a few weeks and then say 'no' and they leave you scrambling to find a replacement.

[mwcpa]

the big questions....

what state does your husband work in?
what does your husband do?

just because someone is "salaried" does not mean overtime rules do not apply. Overtime rules are not just for "hourly" workers.

here is a link to the US DOL rules.... www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/fairpay/fs17a_overview.htm

you should check your state DOL rules, they can be more restrictive than the federal rules

In my inustry there has been some legal battles over the work done by "CPAs" and "non CPAs".... here is a link to an article...http://eylawsuit.com/Ernst_Young_Staff_and_Senio.html

more....

"If you are employed as an unlicensed Junior, Associate, Senior or Consultant Accountant at one of the large accounting firms, or if you are a junior accountant or accouting clerk in any corporation, your employer may be violating the FLSA and state overtime laws by not paying you time and a half for all hours worked over 40. In Kress et al. v. PricewaterhouseCooper, Judge Karlton in the Eastern District of California preliminarily certified an FLSA collective action comprised of Associate and Senior Accountants who were not licensed as Certified Public Accountants. This fact bodes well for those at other accounting firms who are employed in similar positions and are contemplating bringing suit for unpaid overtime. Also, many large corporations violate the FLSA by employing closely supervised "financial accountants" who are not CPAs, perform mostly clerical accounting, and who earn a salary without eligibility for overtime compensation. These violations are particularly egregious given the long hours these accountants are known to work. Also, since the law is developing in favor of paying these employees overtime, it will be difficult for employers to argue that violations are not willful and therefore subject to additional penalties under the FLSA. "

You need to do research....

[happyscooter]

thanks for everyone's comments. i will talk to dh this afternoon when he gets home.

[happyscooter]

the man who hired him has left. he did not have to do this when he first started. he worked his 8-9 hours a day and was good to go. then all of a sudden, the sky is falling, chicken little is out of the hen house, storms are on the horizon and the roof is leaking. this isn't the same boss that hired him.

[Regis]

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong but if he's truly "salaried", he would get paid for a full week if he works any part of that week. In other words, if he gets all of his duties done in four hours on Monday morning and has no other assignments, he still gets paid for 40.

Personally, I'd tell them to shove this job where the sun don't shine. If he's retired, he doesn't need this.