Some employers are devious. Countless managers and supervisors who were hired as salaried employees, based on a 40 hour week, now find themselves hourly employees, working overtime for free.
Deborah Ahrens, Roseville, California:
"I was originally hired as a salaried employee: I supervised six people in HR and accounting. Then the Company decided that, when a new labor law was passed in California, if I didn't spend 50 percent of my time supervising, I had to be paid an hourly rate.
"So my salary was cut and I was given an hourly wage with one hour of overtime guaranteed per day. I always worked more than one hour but had no compensation. The hour of overtime was supposed to make up for what my salary would have been, had I worked a 40 hour week.
"This company was getting a lot of overtime from me. I usually worked six days a week and 10 hour days were common. I had to do this amount of work to get my job done."
Ahrens was the business controller for a retirement home, which are notoriously understaffed. She worked these hours - often doing the job of two people - for about a year. "They said I would have to do this if I wanted to keep my job," she says.
"But my contract didn't say I had to work more than 40 hours. I have a family! It was hard on me and my daughter, I hardly spent any time with her.
"When I finally got around to giving my notice, the company sold. I now work for the new company and my salary was reinstated; I no longer get an hourly rate. But when I went on vacation I got my vacation pay and no overtime, not the extra hour per day they promised me. I think they owe me about $5,000. When I got cashed out from the company I originally worked for, they paid me the hourly rate and no overtime.
"This Company is now selling off a lot of their properties. I know all of their controllers, at least ten, with the same problems. Some are still working for this company, still waiting to get paid their overtime.
If you work in California and you feel that you are owed overtime pay, please contact a lawyer involved in a possible [California Overtime Lawsuit] to review your case at no cost or obligation.