Im a maintenance manager Salary employee, I have been with my company 4 1/2 years. Ever since I worked for this company I have been on emergency stand by call 24 hours a day 365 days a week. Even when I am on vacation I answer emergency phone calls.
My company cell phone has become a part of my body, I sleep with it at my bed side and even take it into the bathroom when I take my showers as I am requested to answer it at any giving time day or night 24 per day 365 days a year. Does this mean I have been on the clock consistently for the past 4 1/2 years?
What are the limitations of a Salary employee, and is it against the law for one to be on call 24 a day 365 days a year even while on vacation.

My other concern is that being a Salary employee I am not required to punch a time clock. However recently I was assigned to a new supervisor who on top of my Salary status he is also requiring me to write down and keep track of my work hours, is this right?

Can anyone give me some direction or advice?


Sincerely Tired and Burnt out..

Hello burned out:

See, here's the deal. While you're on salary, there IS NO clock, so you couldn't have been on one.

I don't believe there are ANY limitations regarding the hours of a salaried employee. So no, it isn't illegal to require a salaried employee to be on call ALL the time - even when on vacation.

Certainly, IF you had been called to work an exorbitant amount of times so as to have effectively reduced your wages, then you would have quit long before now.

Yes, your new supervisor can ask you to keep track of your hours. However, since hours have no bearing on your salary, I'd certainly ask him why he wants to know.

If you're getting the sense that they're going to can you, you're probably right.

excon

Many salaried employees are required to keep track of hours for attendance purposes so there is nothing wrong in that. If the nature of your job is being on call then that's the job. If you don't like it find another job.

There is a catch ( or at least there used to be) I had a law suit against Ship and Shore many years ago over the fact that they made us track our hours ( clock in and out) even though we were salary, they ended up paying overtime because they did that. Cost them 100's of thousands of dollars from what I understand over the years of doing it on many management people. Not sure of current laws but this was in Georgia some time ago, woth talking to a labor attorney about.

But as for as salary, yes I was required to have a fax at home, cell phone all the time, the amount of your salary is suppose to be enough to make up for all of this. If not, then you need to negotiate it.