Pro-active Compensatory Time-off

[vyfxdotcom]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New Jersey

I work for a company in NJ that has contacted its employees recently regarding an overtime over-budget issue that is going on in our division. Until the end of this month, if managers see that we are scheduled to work 40 hours in a week they will block the remaining days as unpaid days off to avoid paying us overtime. Our pay weeks are from Saturday to Friday each week.

Our employee agreement states that our regular salary hours (40 hours per week) are from Monday through Friday from 8:00AM to 5:00PM, with one hour of unpaid lunch each day. Any time worked before 8:00AM, after 5:00PM, or on weekends is considered overtime and is paid at 1.5x the regular hourly rate.

My schedule is based on projects at various customer sites that I may be assigned to. Typically, I'm assigned to one project for each work day and am paid regardless of whether I am assigned to a project on a given day or not.

Right now I am scheduled to work this Saturday along with next Monday, Monday night, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday.. Because I am not yet scheduled for next Thursday, and my Saturday/Monday/Monday night/Tuesday/Wednesday/Friday work is expected to be 48 hours (8 hours per assignment), my manager has informed me he is blocking Thursday off as unpaid time off on my calendar.

I should be getting paid for eight hours on Thursday regardless of whether I was scheduled or not as part of the company's pay policy that I agreed to upon being hired. If I were to get paid for Thursday, both my Saturday and Monday night assignments (8 hours each) would mean I should expect 16 hours of overtime for the week. However, because my manager has blocked my Thursday, I now am only at the original 48 hours and will only be receiving 8 hours of overtime.

Is my company allowed to proactively off-shift my schedule to avoid paying me overtime? My hours as per my job contract are, again, M-F for eight hours per day. Any time worked before 8AM or after 5PM, or on weekends, is paid at the overtime rate.

With my manager's change, now I will not be receiving the overtime pay I should be for my Saturday and Monday night assignments. In essence I am being forced to work my regular Thursday hours on either Saturday or Monday night, when those times should be considered overtime.

Also, I am only being granted an unpaid day off of 8 hours. If I'm not mistaken, if anything, I should be receiving at least (8 x 1.5) hours of compensatory time off..

Thanks a lot. Hopefully this isn't confusing. Please let me know if there's anything I can clarify.

 

[swalsh411]

Employer are absolutely allowed to dictate to their employees the hours they will work. Doing so to save on overtime costs is perfectly legal and common. Why would you think otherwise?

I highly doubt this alleged "contract":

A) is an bonafide employment contact to begin with
B) absolutely guaruntees you a certain amount of paid hours each week

If you feel otherwise, take it to an employment attorney for review. Nobody here can provide an opinion on a contract they haven't read.

 

[eerelations]

Agree, employers are legally free to change their employees' schedules at any time, and to set limits on the number of hours employees may work each week.

What does this "contract" of yours look like? Does it say "Employment Agreement" or "Employment Contract" at the top? Did all parties (you, your employer, witnesses) duly sign it before your start date?

 

[ecmst12]

Limiting the number of hours you work in a week is not compensatory time off. It is simply setting your schedule to limit overtime. If you had already worked the overtime, it would be illegal to give you time off in a different week instead of paying you the overtime.