Can a salaried employee be required to work 14 hours per day, 7 days a week?
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Can a salaried employee be required to work 14 hours per day, 7 days a week?
The company is now owned by a Japanese company and located in CA. Since it is a manufacturing facility, it is in operation 24 hours a day. To keep it in operation, salaried employees are all required to be there 14 hours a day, 7 days a week. And, if this wasn’t enough, there is an additional “on call” requirement. Are foreign companies governed by local laws when operating in the U.S.? What exactly are the laws governing this situation?
Asked on March 22, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, California
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
Are you an exempt or non-exempt employee? If you are exempt employee, there is no limit on how many hours you can be asked to work (with certain exceptions - pilots, for example). However, be aware that just because you are salaried doesn't mean that you are necessarily "exempt" from certain labor laws. Being paid on a salary basis is part of the test for most forms of exemption, but it's not the only part. It is possible to be salaried and still get overtime. Basically, exempt employees are: Management (i.e. you supervise other people and have have considerable discretion in your work); Professionals (your job requires advanced or technical training - engineers, accountants, lawyers, etc); Administrators (if you they exercise considerable discretion in your position). If not, then you are a non-exempt employee and work time is paid time. Additionally, for any hours that you work over 40 per week, it has to be paid as overtime.
Note: This all assumes that there is no union/employment contract or company policy to the contrary.
At this point you should go to the CA's Department of Industrial Relations or the federal Department of Labor's website and check to see whether or not you are an "exempt" or "non-exempt" employee.
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