My husbands on salary, is it legal for him to work 80 hours a week with no extra pay?

Question

OK my husband has worked for this restaurant for a few years now and he became the assistant manager. He works 80 hours a week on salary that is supposed to be for 40 hours. He gets nothing extra and if he quits and we both get min wage jobs at 40 hours a week we would be making 300 dollars more than what we are now. Is this legal to make him work so many hours with no extra pay?

Answer 1

It is important to look at the contract he sign when taking the salary position.  Some of the language states that he waves his rights of overtime pay when working as a salaried employee.  A lot of companies use this tactic to get out of legally paying overtime.  Hopefully this is not your case.  If he does not have a copy of the contract, contact the HR department, they will have a copy of his employment file, and that is a law.  Good luck.

Answer 2

I assume you are in the US.

If he's an assistant manager on salary, he might or might not be exempt from the federal wage and hour laws.  There is a minimum income, somewhere around $23,000 a year, to be exempt for management and supervisory personnel.

Answer 3

Yes it's legal.  Salaried employees are exempt from federal wage laws.

I highly recommend that your husband find another job.  80 hour work weeks are grueling, they will take a toll on his health.  And his employer is taking advantage of your husband's work ethic.  They don't deserve his services.

Answer 4

Are you based in the US? But for some reasons, your question pops up when I filter Yahoo to just show Australian question. Who knows...

Anyway - I myself live in Australia. I can share my story with you. I am not covered under any Federal Award or State Award, there is an Employment Agreement that I signed. The clause under my Agreement is something to the effect of .. I basically have to work to finish my job. I can negotiate time in lieu (of overtime) but it's not outlined in details how or what. I am on a salary that is reviewed every year. And - well no overtime pay in anyway, shape or form. It is specifically said there. My hours of work went up from 5 x 7.5 hours including lunch, to 5 x 9.5 hours of working only, to 5 x 10 hours excluding any additional CPDs and admin (which is still below your hubby's 80 hours).

Of course I still have the basic annual leaves, sick leaves. In Australia there are some basic rules the employer cannot scrap off altogether - which are basically .... these only.

So...to determine whether it is legal or not, maybe first point of call, check the Employment Agreement that your husband signed.

Answer 5

no that is not illegal.  he is on salary .. he is paid a set amount each pay period regardless of what he works .. that means he can work less than 40 hours but still get paid for 40 hours.  that is also the bad side of it .. meaning he can work over 40 hours but gets paid his SALARY set amount each pay period.  he isn't on salary exempt meaning he gets salary PLUS overtime.  not too many companies do that anyways, if they do you are lucky and they are very generous.  but no its not illegal.

Answer 6

so far lee has the only correct answer

being on salary does not make you exempt from overtime

but there are numerous salary positions that are exempt.

exempt status has nothing to do with a contract but only to do with the duties performed.

generally an assistant manager in a restaurant is not considered an exempt position so your husband MAY be due the overtime.

the only way to know for sue is to contact the state's department of labor, this site list all the state's departments:

http://www.dol.gov/esa/contacts/state_of...

these following sites will provide information concerning salary, salary exempt and how those different payment methods effect overtime:

http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/regs/complian...

http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/regs/complian...

Answer 7

it actually depends, there are various classifications of salaried positions, some are exempt from additional pay for excess hours worked, others are not and should receive additional compensation. If your husband was to speak to your local Employment development  department (EDD) (or whatever it is called in your area) labor board etc. They would be able to look into it to see if he is getting taken advantage of. If they find that he should be receiving OT pay for the additional time worked, they can rule that the company has to retroactively compensate him.

Answer 8

It depends on the state. But typically, if you're paid salary, you're paid to do a job, regardless of the hours it consumes.

However, he is being taken advantage of. He needs to put his foot down and stop working that many hours, or find a new job.

Answer 9

I agree with lee and michr. I am paid salary but am nonexempt meaning I am eligible for overtime. So if I work 30 hours in a week I get paid for 40 but if I work 50 hours in a week I get 10 hours of overtime.

It sounds like your husband is salary exempt meaning he is not eligible for overtime. The exempt part is determined by government guidelines.

Answer 10

YES! Thats def illegal. There just using your husband they need to pay him overtime. Anything after 40 hrs is considered over time.  

Answer 11

He is required by  law to receive over time.