Can my employer make me work 7 days a week?
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Can my employer make me work 7 days a week?
I work on a golf course as assistant superintendent. I make a salary of $48,000 a year. The money is OK but I work at least 12 hours a day during the week and at least 8 hours every
weekend day. I’m given no regular time off besides one day every 3 weeks or so. There are many people in my shoes but industry standard is to keep your mouth shut and accept the way
things are done. Is it legal to work people this hard? Also, I do not have the authority to hire or fire hourly employees.
Asked on June 10, 2016 under Employment Labor Law, Alaska
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
You have 2 issues here. First, an employee can be scheduled to work however many hours that their employor sees fit. The exceptions would be for airline pilots, truck drivers and certain medical personnel. The fact is that most work relationships are "at will", which means that an employer can set the conditions of work much as they deem appropriate. That is unless such action violates a union agreement or employment contract, or constitutes some form of legally actionable discrimination.
Your second issue is whether or not you are considered to be an exempt employee and thereby eligible to receive overtime pay. Based on what you have written, you may well be exempt. What you can do to find out more is to go the U.S. Department of Labor's website or your state labor deartment's website; they will expainn all of this further.
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