Language in my Contract

[Aboyd]

What is the name of your state? OH

I am a physician assistant and worked for a solo physician practitioner for 4 years before he sold his practice to our base hospital 1Jan04. They offered me a contract similar in salary and benefits to my physician employer, but the first clause stated I would work "at least" 40 hours a week.

At that time, I wanted the option - as I'd always had - to work less than 40 hours if the week's schedule so allowed, given that I am often required to work more than 40 hours in a week, due to emergency surgery and the like. I requested and the hospital obliged to change this wording to "an average of".

Now, having worked nearly 9 months for the hospital, I find that my average is just over 52 hours a week, and I am routinely scheduled to work 10 and 11 hours a day. I have not worked less than 8 hours in a day since February.

Do I have a recourse in demanding that I be given compensatory time off to reduce my weekly hours to "an average of" 40, as stated in the first clause of my contract?

Thanks for any help on this.

 

[cbg]

If you are a non-exempt employee, then your employer MAY NOT LEGALLY give you comp time, regardless of how many hours you work per week. It is not legal, in the private sector, for an employee to be given comp time in lieu of overtime. Period. Even if the employee would prefer comp time to overtime.

If you are an exempt employee, then your employee may legally give you comp time IF THEY CHOOSE TO, but they are under no legal obligation to do so unless your contract SPECIFICALLY says otherwise. You can ask for it, but unless your contract specifies that you are entitled to it, it's entirely up to the employer whether to grant your request or not. You do NOT have a legal entitlement to it.

 

[Aboyd]

my contract

Thanks for your input, cbg, but unfortunately I don't know if this helped me, owing to my ignorance.

I believe I am simply referred to as a "contracted employee." I honestly do not know whether I would be considered exempt or non-exempt, but my contract specifically states that I will work "an average of 40 hours a week" for the length of the contract, which is one year. I have not - and, indeed, have been scheduled in such a way as to make it impossible to have - worked an average of 40 hours per week so far in this contract year.

My question goes to whether I can legally require my employers to abide by this first clause of my employment contract and make all efforts to reduce my workload to what is stated in that clause. "Compensatory time" may not be the correct term for the time off I would need to approach the average they agreed to, but I don't know what else to call it.

 

[cbg]

There is no possible way I can interpret your contract for you, or determine how enforceable it is. You will have to show it to a local attorney.

Whether you are exempt or non-exempt is determined by your job duties and Federal law. The information I provided in my first post is also Federal law. Your contract CANNOT override the law. Unless you are exempt, it doesn't mattter what your contract says; you CANNOT be given comp time, period. And if you ARE exempt whether or not you are given comp time depends on the terms of your contract, which I have not read, and the pleasure of your employer. NOTHING in the law gives you comp time by right or entitlement. I don't know how to make it any clearer.

 

[BelizeBreeze]

I don't know how to make it any clearer.

I've been telling Mary we need one of those little buttons that allows you to attach a drawing to the post.