What are my rights as an employee in regards to earned

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What are my rights as an employee in regards to earned

I’m an engineer working for a private company, owned by another. I believe I fall under the

Asked on April 16, 2017 under Employment Labor Law, Massachusetts

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 6 years ago | Contributor

If there is no written agreement about the comp time, just an oral (that's the better term than "verbal"), then they probably can refuse to give you comp time: unwritten promises generally do not override or change "employment at will," which is the law of land except when there is, and to the extent there is, a written employment agreement. Since part of employment at will is employer ability to set or change compensation at will, they can likely refuse to provide the comp time without a written agreement, or at least a firm, unequivocal written policy (such as in an employee handbook) confirming your right to it. 
Since you are a salaried exempt professional, you could have been required to work weekends for no additional compensation: therefore, they did not need to provide you pay or comp days to work, but could simply have required it. Since they did not have to provide it, they should now be able to disclaim their oral promise of comp time if they chose.


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