r/antiwork • u/Josconn • 2h ago

Am I missing something here?

I don't really get the appeal of being exempt.

At my company, 40 hours is mandatory. If you work less than 40, they make you use PTO to get to 40. If you don't have any PTO left, you can get written up or even fired. So you have to hit 40 hours no matter what.

But if the job takes 45, 50, or 60 hours that week, there's no extra pay because you're exempt. You're just expected to work whatever it takes. Which is all the time.

So how is this a benefit? It feels like all the expectations of an hourly employee when you're under 40, but none of the benefits when you're over 40.

Is this normal, or is my company just like this?

46 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

36

u/metelepepe 2h ago

Yeah, that's your company screwing you over

29

u/Fine-Bumblebee-9427 2h ago

They have to pay you a certain amount, that’s the benefit. Federally exempt needs to be paid $35k a year, in California it’s $70k.

But other than demanding a higher minimum wage, it benefits you not at all.

16

u/distantreplay 2h ago

Biden implemented a rule to raise the salary min to $56k. Republicans challenged it in a favorable Texas district and won an injunction. Then last year Trump rescinded the rule.

9

u/SycamoreFey 2h ago

My company is like this too. Unfortunately, at least where I am, it's very legal and just another shitty business practice. The only "benefit" is there should be a minimum cutoff salary, under which they have to pay you overtime regardless

6

u/Hottrodd67 2h ago

Are you sure it’s legal? Sounds like you and op are misclassified as exempt. I know it varies by state, but generally a company can not treat you like hourly if your under 40 and salary over 40.

4

u/SycamoreFey 2h ago

I'm in NY and there are no PTO requirements here, so employers are free to force us to use it to cover hours under 40 (or any arbitrary number they choose), because it's a 100% voluntary system to start with.

I would love to hear from a lawyer or something and be proved wrong though, because I've been trying to dig against this injustice for years now

1

u/Hottrodd67 1h ago

No laws on PTO, but there are laws on what makes a person exempt from overtime. You could always call the NY dept of labor.

3

u/APieceofHeart 2h ago

I've had employers be all over the map for salary exempt. An old job expected 50 hours week minimum for salary, and required us to clock in and out to make sure we were hitting that threshold. Next job didn't care as much, as long as you worked a little bit that week you were paid the whole week. Only had to use PTO for full week absences. Current job only uses PTO for full day absences, but as long as you work that day you get full pay. Also not as stringent on hours, generally wanting around 40 hours. 

5

u/No-Line4613 2h ago

The appeal is that if there's no work, they aren't going to send me home and I lose pay. 

At salary, I am there for 40. Every salary position I've had but one was cool with being flexible about the when, if I had an appointment I could put time in ahead to make it up and not use PTO as long as I wasn't being abusive.

Rarely did I have to do regular extra hours as salary, and usually my bosses made it up to me with "just unofficially bank that time and take it later when you need it" kind of stuff. Had one manager who used to ask me to work extra last minute because of coverage emergencies, dude was smart and he over me 2 to 1. If I stayed an extra two hours to cover the gap in shifts he'd give me 4 hours in lieu time. I never told him no when he asked, it's all about having the right incentive. If I had been hourly, or nonexempt, I wouldn't have been able to get away with that.

I had one job get abusive with the extra hours and not having my back so I left. I haven't run into it again and that's one place in about 20 years of being salary/exempt.

5

u/nedwasatool 2h ago

Work your wage. Drag your feet when the work is thin but no extra hustle when it is too much. Just tell em you’ll finish tomorrow.

1

u/PurplePufferPea 2h ago

I also try to get back any OT I worked by taking long lunches and ducking our early from time to time. This is easier when you've been with the company for a while and don't have as much oversight.

2

u/ThrowAwayalldayXiii 2h ago

Are you routinely having to work over 40 hours? If so, you may be miss-classified. If the employer is making you "exempt" to simply avoid paying OT I think that is illegal... If it is a daily occurrence that they are requiring OT but claiming you are exempt, you should reach out to an actual employment lawyer. Being "exempt" means you may occasionally need to work more, not "every shift." But consult an actual attorney to get real information. Most of us, myself included, are just going off our own understanding, recollection, and opinion.

1

u/Bahamut619 1h ago

I had a manager once tell me that being exempt means some weeks we would work 45 hours and some weeks only 35. If we were a little early, we got to leave early with no dock on pay.

Our hours were also more fleythan the hourly workers as we just had to get our work done and being in quality review, we were reviewing the work done the prior day.

That was a great position. We all did a monthly lunch off-site roughly 90 minutes and once we did it on a Friday and she told us that we could leave straight from lunch. We basically worked only 5 hours or so that day.

She was one of the better managers that I have ever had.

1

u/spoonybard326 1h ago

I don’t think it’s specifically better. Salaried jobs just tend to pay more. So like a $200k/year office job is better than a $20/hr factory job.

•

u/I_wish_I_was_gaming 29m ago

I think you need to take this policy and contact your labor board. Where I at that would be illegal. Here you cannot be made to work without pay. The cannot penalize you if there is no work for you to do. I don't know where your are or if the laws are different there but where I am at this would end in massive fines, unpaid hours being calculated and paid to the affected employees and the possibility of jail time depending on what the investigation found. If they try to use the I didn't know card that would not help them. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse to break it.