Legal Question in Employment Law in California
I work for a television company that several times each year asks its employees to work 6 or 7 days per week. I am at a 'director' level (something of a joke because 67% of the company is either a director or Vice President) - and I am therefore ineligible for overtime. They recently implemented an 'unofficial policy' that says if someone works 7 straight days (and these are often 12+ hour long days) ONLY THEN will they receive as compensation ONE DAY off. What can I do? When I accepted the job it was under the agreement that if I worked more than 5 days in a week that I would get an equal amount of days off to compensate. What irks more is the Human Resources and CFO's attitude that they DON'T have to give us anything and that we are lucky to get even the one day off for working every day.
2 Answers from Attorneys
If you are truly an "exempt" employee, you may have little recourse. But it may well be that you and others like you at the company are misclassified as managerial level, and that you are actually entitled to overtime and other benefits of California's wage and hour laws.
Whether you are misclassified depends in large part on a careful analysis of your actual job duties and responsibilities.
I am a certified appellate law specialist who works with a team of employment and class-action attorneys in prosecuting cases such as these. I also prosecute class-action appeals. You can review my website at www.LosAngelesAppeals.com for more information about myself and my practice. My offices are in Century City and Santa Barbara.
I would be interested in speaking to you further about your situation. Please call my office at 800-988-4807 if you would like a no-obligation consult.
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If you are properly classified as salaried exempt, then the company can require as many hours as they like, without OT or extra pay. If improperly classified, then you may be entitled to recover OT, interest and penalties for the last several years. Feel free to contact me if serious about pursuing this.