Is it legal to force employees to work overtime ifthey choose not to stay past their scheduled hours?
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Is it legal to force employees to work overtime ifthey choose not to stay past their scheduled hours?
My employer on a regular basis force employees to stay past their scheduled work hours in order to finish the current order they are working on. In many cases they will give large orders which are impossible to finish by the time your scheduled work day is over. Although we are given overtime pay for any hours worked that exceed 40 hours per week, many of us do not want to work overtime and I was wondering if it is legal for my employer to force us to work over 40 hours per week?
Asked on February 8, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, Massachusetts
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Yes, it is completely legal to require employees to work past the end of their regularly scheduled hours, unless those employees have a contract (including a union or collective bargaining agreement) which limits their hours or shifts. Otherwise, your legal protection under the law (the Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA) is that you must be paid overtime for hours worked past 40.
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