I recently retired from a high stress, salaried position.

Anonymous

November 17,2023 at 8:00PM UTC

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I recently retired from a high stress, salaried position. I took a very part-time hourly wage position. As part of this job, I am expected to answer emails and phone calls and manage a social media account--outside my regular hours. When I mentioned this to my director, she just told me that it is the above and beyond we all do. If I was salaried, this wouldn't bother me. I have been out of the hourly wage loop for a long time. Is this what is expected of hourly wage earners now-a-days?

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AnonymousNovember 17,2023 at 8:32PM UTC
In some positions and environments yes, absolutely. Just make sure you record that time and are paid for it.Every position in every company, regardless if the position is exempt or non-exempt requires specific commitments to meet the responsibilities. But everyone is paid according to their agreement.
From what you explained, no one asked to work without pay. You are just questioning the commitment of time. I'm afraid this isn't a 9-5 job.
If you're looking for a set schedule, maybe find a shift work position where you punch in and out. That way know exactly what your hours of work are.
AnonymousNovember 17,2023 at 8:52PM UTC
Real question? Of course not, overall, legally what you work is what you are legally entitled to be paid for. Hourly wage earnings should be discussing these types of asks before committing and negotiating that time.
Regina BrownNovember 17,2023 at 9:26PM UTC
Ask your boss as how you are being paid? You indicated that it is an hourly part time position.
Your director told you that it is "the above and beyond we all do." Who is "we"? Is "we" salaried? By LAW, if you are being paid hourly, then you need to be compensated...whether that be through paid time off or actual payment, you need to be compensated..period.
Audrey KirschNovember 17,2023 at 10:49PM UTC
Hourly workers do not work beyond their scheduled hours unless they want to on an occasional basis. Mandatory work outside of regular hours requires you get paid for it. Or, they could adjust your hours so that this work could be accomplished as needed. That is not above and beyond, that is trying to get something for free.
AnonymousNovember 18,2023 at 1:07PM UTC
Are you working for a non profit?? Maybe
AnonymousNovember 18,2023 at 2:56PM UTC
No, not maybe, just NO! The federal
laws are clear, this is not legal. They want full time coverage without paying for it, and quite frankly, a non-profit of any type should know better.
AnonymousNovember 18,2023 at 2:22PM UTC
No no no. This is illegal. Even if it were a non-profit. I have to wonder what other laws are they breaking?
Melissa HacheyNovember 18,2023 at 2:26PM UTC
the problem with that is you’re working extra hours and paying for part time benefits or don’t qualify for benefits. Doesn’t seem fair.
AnonymousNovember 18,2023 at 2:34PM UTC
This doesn’t seem right. When I left my director-level position for the same reasons, I moved over to contract work. Almost daily, we were reminded that we work a set number of hours - no more. It took me awhile to get used to this, but now I love it, and wouldn’t go back. If your director was saying something like “Figure out how many hours you’re spending on work while out of the office and only show up for the remainder.” Or, was paying you, I’d think about it, but what you are describing is abusing an hourly, part time employee.
We really need to stop normalizing these behaviors. Whether it’s a for profit corporation or a non-profit, they have to follow the labor laws.
Mary Mathiowetz-ShafferNovember 18,2023 at 2:40PM UTC
It’s actually against federal law. Look up FLSA… Fair Labor Standards Act. Track your time and submit it to be paid. If they refuse it, keep track and consult with your HR or your boss - or a labor lawyer. ;) Or find a new part time gig - they are stealing from you.
AnonymousNovember 18,2023 at 2:46PM UTC
No. And it is against the law. You can report the company for unfair employment practices.
Erika CNovember 18,2023 at 3:06PM UTC
This is an illegal ask from your director as an hourly employee. Period. Your time spent on ANY and ALL work for your employer must be paid. And correct… if salaried, the expectation would be that there are some off-hours of work you’d be asked to handle as part of your salary. I’d double check with your state’s labor department on this, as well as checking the posted labor law and wage posters (take pics) and be frank with the director that her ask and expectation is not legal and you’d be owed pay for any time you put into work. So, they can offer you the hours and pay or they take it on themselves or through other salaried staff. If your part time hours are specific per week, then you may ask to adjust your hours so that you work remotely for the off-hours social media work and then regular hours on-site as normal, all falling within your set range of hours. It doesn’t matter if this is a non-profit, a small family biz, or a large company… asking you to work without pay is an abuse and illegal. They are taking advantage of you and anyone else less knowledgeable on this subject. If you like the work and the people, make clear boundaries about this by letting them know you’re happy to do the work, but legally, you must be paid as an hourly earner. Document everything because if they are “at will employers” and let you go, it’s likely retaliatory because you didn’t fall in line and they likely pursue this behavior consistently. At that point, report them to your labor board and find a new part time gig.
Sarah PageNovember 18,2023 at 3:10PM UTC
I would email her for clarification of your conversation and then share that email with the DOL.
AnonymousNovember 18,2023 at 3:12PM UTC
Illegal, unethical, rude, disgusting, and just plain dumb. Leave or only work hours for which you are paid
AnonymousNovember 18,2023 at 3:34PM UTC
No, this is wage theft.
misskelleypNovember 18,2023 at 5:41PM UTC
Nope. This is illegal. Hourly (non-exempt) employees must be paid for every minute they work.
AnonymousNovember 18,2023 at 8:12PM UTC
Yes, and then your director will have to update how the work is done - during working hours, with you being paid for the extra time, or the hiring of a FT employee, for which they’ll have to pay benefits.
BethBNovember 18,2023 at 9:29PM UTC
You may have spoken to the wrong person. Speak to someone in HR. Let them know you like the job and the organization and as an hourly employee you will be submitting all of your hours.
AnonymousNovember 19,2023 at 3:46AM UTC
Where in the world did you read anyone mentioning overtime? Perhaps all the comments here, other than the practice of expecting an hourly employee to work extra without compensation being illegal, are conjecture.
She shouldn’t be asked or expected to work extra without compensation.
You need a nap or a snickers.
AnonymousNovember 19,2023 at 11:25PM UTC
Being snarky (i.e. nap or snarky) in your response is not helpful and unnecessary. Save it for the real world.
AnonymousNovember 19,2023 at 6:03AM UTC
Dear Anonymous,
I lost two years of my life and God knows how many hours worked for NOTHING because I accepted a "part-time" job that turned out to be "part time ALL the time." While being paid for ONLY 24 hours per week, I was expected to "be available" weekdays between 9 and 5:30-ish, PLUS go out and show rental units to prospects on the weekends at times that suited THEIR schedules (not mine). This was basically a seven-day-per-week job that paid as if I worked three, eight-hour days. Ditto for vacation time (the second year, I never got ANY). Granted, there were days that the phone didn't ring at all and there were only straggler emails, but I got paid for "doing nothing," regardless. However. I still had to get up early every morning in order to "be available" and ready to work. Lesson learned: get EVERYTHING spelled out at the beginning. I, too, was never an hourly employee--only salaried--so I was used to the occasional "extra" work required. Needless to say, I quit and resolved never to be so stupid and disrespectful of my time, again. Going forward, I will only consider a part-time, hourly job with CLEARLY DEFINED hours. Live and learn!
AnonymousNovember 19,2023 at 1:22PM UTC
This is a really bad, never ending “on-call” position! I can see how that would be really stressful - you never have downtime because you are constantly anticipating the next call.
Vivian LeeNovember 20,2023 at 4:00PM UTC
100% the mental load and limited availability for other parts of life from anticipating being called into work.This had been the norm for the first 10 years of my Quality and Technical Services career in manufacturing with 24/7 operations. It was difficult explaining to family and friends who were not directly involved of why I was constantly on edge and watching the clock. There was also no guarantee I could keep any of the appointments booked in case of being called to work. It’s no longer surprising why I didn’t stay the 3rd year into these jobs.
AnonymousNovember 21,2023 at 4:40AM UTC
I know exactly how you feel Vivian! Personal life was "contingent" on no work duties (at the moment). A terrible way to live. When I had to stay way overtime (yet again!) to help someone correct an application he and his wife had taken home and done on their own, causing me to miss a valued writing class that only met once a month, that sealed my decision to quit. No personal life should EVER take a back seat to an hourly (or even salaried) job.
Janet ParkhurstNovember 21,2023 at 4:41AM UTC
Never ending was exactly the description I used. Thank you for reminding me. It was, indeed, awful. Thank you for understanding this...
Gretchen OstermanNovember 19,2023 at 2:17PM UTC
This probably violates FLSA
AnonymousNovember 19,2023 at 4:49PM UTC
What does she mean by "above and beyond what we all do"? Well, as mentioned earlier never ending "on call" is an issue; this reminds me of the hotel industry. It's an invasion and disrespectful of your personal time and has an impact on your mental and physical health. It's definitely a violation of FLSA. Any hours considered "hours worked" must be paid. Being salaried, I believe, would leave the same expectation at this company. Move on. There's a job out there for you.
AnonymousNovember 20,2023 at 2:56PM UTC
make sure you put ALL of the hours worked on your time sheet. It is illegal for them to not pay you for after work hours that you work.
AnonymousNovember 20,2023 at 5:13PM UTC
Definitely not, charge the company for time that you work. It is illegal to not be paid for the work you do especially as an hourly person. If you get a sour response then file a wage claim with the EEOC and have them investigate, I assume you may not be the only one getting cheated there.
AnonymousNovember 20,2023 at 5:23PM UTC
Keep a record of any time you work and report it on your timecard. You are supposed to get paid for anytime that you work, if you are an hourly employee. I'm pretty sure it's the law.
Liz MilneNovember 20,2023 at 9:59PM UTC
What Leader461723 says... If they want to double your pay and call you salaried, yes, they can expect above and beyond. For one hour's pay, they get one hour's work, imo...
Carlene NicholsNovember 20,2023 at 10:50PM UTC
Companies that make people work off the clock open themselves to class action lawsuits. It is illegal.
AnonymousNovember 21,2023 at 12:56AM UTC
I totally agree with what all of the others have posted. However, do look carefully at your acceptance letter as well as the terms of your contract if you have a separate contract. You didn't indicate that you were a contractor, but if so:
Here is my experience: I worked as a "W-2 employee no benefits" contractor where the pay is stated as an hourly rate, but the word "exempt" is somewhere in the description. If that is the case, unfortunately, you are exempt, and the "extra over and above" is expected as part of the job.
There was an upside in my case, being a "full time" contractor, though. By law I did get paid for 24 hours' time per annum during the client company shut down periods.
Amy KilroyNovember 21,2023 at 5:39PM UTC
If you are hourly and non-exempt, by law, they are required to pay you for any 'outside' time that you work. You need to track your time accordingly and request to be paid, because what they are doing is flat out illegal. If you file a complaint with the EEOC and they are found guilty, then they owe you 1-1/2 times. Macaroni Grill was audited as they were requiring employees to clean before/after shifts without paying them. It destroyed the company.
Kristie WhiteNovember 21,2023 at 6:10PM UTC
No - you should be getting paid for all the time you work as an hourly wage earner. this is the company stealing labor.
Crystal HowellNovember 23,2023 at 1:44PM UTC
Heck No, tell her you will track your hours on your timecard. Contact HR
No one works for free
Crystal HowellNovember 23,2023 at 1:45PM UTC
Make sure you print her emails telling you that, might have a case if the owner is allowing this?
Wanda ShawNovember 25,2023 at 1:45PM UTC
This all sounds like a full time job to me. And if you’re hourly, you should be paid accordingly for everything you do that pertains to the job, even if it means going above and beyond.